Looking into the soul
by BookwormBadass
Summary: I know there are many reading vampire Academy stories out here, but give this a try. So you know the usual, whole gang is in a room and they read the books. I've been toying with the idea for a while now. My first creation. Regular updates.
1. Prologue

**Rose POV **

After a long and hard day at work I just wanted alone time, hmm! Hot bath with dimitri would be such a bliss. When you are a guardian little things like, a long hot bath, is luxury. You get wound up in daily work and chores that you almost forget to stop and think, what the hell is actually happening in your life. If you think being a guardian is a lot of work then you can't even imagine what is it like being head Guardian of Moroi queen.

Usually after my work hours I spend sometime in the office. Hans like to give me a little paper work here and there, usually I find a way to get around them but sometimes when it is related to lissa's safety I willingly look into it. That's what I've been doing today. There is some kind of Moroi ball which is being planned and since our beloved queen is attending it, we or rather I feel there is need to straighten out the details by a fine tooth comb once again, you can never be too cautious, can you?

After the bond was severed, I became ore paranoid for Lissa's safety. Honestly in my opinion the bond couldn't have severed in the worst possible timing Lisa had just been elected queen of our entire race and mind you, was one of the only two living members of the Dragomirs, which kinda made her very vulnerable to assains, kidnappings, and let's not forget all the crazy people out there. But these past few weeks things have gotten strange, like when the bond was first formed I used to experience these little episodes or rather low hum of lissa's emotions, but now I've noticed that whenever lissa's heals or use any kind of magic I can feel her emotions for a small bursts of time, which intensifies when she is healing me. Like, barely a week ago sparky and liss went for shopping outside the wards so we decided that leaving a little before human hours would be best to give them more time for shopping but what we hadn't considered was that we were providing an opportunity for a Strigoi ambush. We (which included me, dimitri, and lissa's thousand guardians )fought about 20 Strigoi, the last one I had encountered threw me against a very big tree, while I recovered from the fall Guardian Eric had finished him off, lissa being lissa healed my back, which otherwise would've taken at least a week to heal, while she was using the magic her emotions hit me hard, anguish, fear, terror, relief, all at once but as soon as she finished the feelings also stopped.

It is something I don't understand, maybe I'm just imagining things I don't know I mean Adrian was sure he saw our bond breaking. Maybe after being bonded for soo long plays a part in it. Anyways as I was heading for mine and dimitri's apartment in the Queen's Palace I started feeling a little excited, and mix of emotions anticipation, anxiety, wariness, I couldn't exactly figure it out but one thing I was sure of, was that these weren't my emotions, these were certainly lissa's but I can't be imagining them, could I? As I reached out to open the door of my apartment I caught a sight of paper sticking out for the corner of door.

I unfolded the paper to see a message written in a very elegant handwriting.

_It read, " Dear Rosemarie Hathaway, Kindly report to Queen's Chambers. There you will meet your friends and some family, further instructions would be given to you as you reach there. Meanwhile if you could be so kind to pack a bag with some clothes for yourself and basic toiletries. I assure you there is no danger. -anonymous "_

OK now I'm confused, what is this thing? I tried to call dimitri but there were no answers, I tried lissa, Christian, hell even my mother but no answers. I guess if I need answers I need to do what it says. I hope it actually does stick to its promise and there is no danger there. But just in case I put a spare stake in my boots and checked my gun. Packed the bag and left for the royal housing of the court.

**Dimitri's Pov.**

As soon as I reached the queen Chambers I found mostly everyone who in one way or another close to Rose. Even her parent were there, it's still a hard concept to grasp that Abe is Rose's father. Although now that you know about their relationship you can point out many similarities between them like say both of them have built and live up to their dangerous reputations. It is a scary concept altogether for those who have known Abe for a long time.

After the great reveal of Queen's assassination, Rose's near death experience I would say things are going as smoothly as you can imagine. But when you know rose, you know that trouble isn't that far away. Rose and trouble have far greater bond that rose and lissa, which is saying something.  
>As I entered the room everyone was as confused as me, nobody know what is gonna happen , or why are we here in first place.<p>

"Dimitri do you know why we are here? " Lissa asked, which attracted everyone's attention. Although I hate to disappoint her but I don't have any other option," No your Majesty ". At this lissa rolled her eyes and said," Lissa, it's Lissa .how many times do I have to remind you this " I said nothing, instead opting for simple smile. As I looked away from her I caught a sight of a brown box kept in a corner with Rose's name on it. As I proceeded towards it I caught site of Eddie and janine walking towards me, obviously noticing the same thing as me. "Guardian Hathaway, Guardian Castille" they nodded politely where as Eddie asked me to be on a first name basis with him. When we peeked inside it there was a note as well as some books inside, the note was addressed to rose, so I thought better of it and left it for rose to read. Thinking of rose, she should be her anytime soon, just as I was thinking this the door opened and in come the person in question. Looking at her face I can tell she was as much confused as other people were.

**Lissa's Pov **

As soon as rose entered the room, a wave of emotions encircled me. Confusion, relief, astonishment, but the weird thing was they were not mine, I realized they were hers. But just as they came, a nanosecond later they were gone. Weird. Maybe I was imagining thing, God knows being a queen tires you out, maybe to much work load has messed with my head for real.

Rose's voice pulled me out of my thoughts "what is happening here?". Before anyone could say anything dimitri replied," there is a box here with a letter addressed to you. ". Rose went over to the box and pulled out the letter to read out loud,

_" Dear Rose, _

_I'm happy you didn't question my previous letter and came here. Here in this room are all those people who are close to your heart, people who can be trusted with your secrets and past. Don't ask me who I am, because there won't be an answer. In the box you will find six books which are to read in order starting from first :vampire Academy, frostbite, shadow kissed, blood promise, spirit bound, and last sacrifice. These are your exact thoughts just on a paper. The purpose of this 'activity' will be revealed at the end. Enjoy reading. -anonymous_

_ P. S. You don't need to leave the room unless you finish the task, all the things you will require are already there. "_

As soon as rose finished reading it silence fell over. Only to be broken by, you guessed it the famous Rose Hathaway," what the fucking hell is this shit? "

**Author's note : this is the prologue guys. I know there are many reading vampire Academy stories but give this a try. I promise you I'll regularly update. Won't let you hanging. Your criticism and thoughts would be appreciated a lot. Please tell me how you feel about it. Thank you for your time. **


	2. Chapter 1 Rose's POV

**Rose's POV**

We all sat around occupying whatever place we could find, I sat with dimitri on the love seat. Sitting in his arms relaxed me like nothing else could. His warmth engulfing me, soothing me, I felt all the tension of the day disappearing. After doing a very thorough security sweep, we (as in guardians ) sat down.

If this is what I think this is, it's not gonna be good, I was afraid, even terrified of what was to come with these books. As if sensing my fear Dimitri spoke up in a hushed voice so that only I could hear, "don't worry my dear roza, relax everything's going to be okay, I am here for you honey. " I just smiled up at him, thinking what did I do to deserve this gorgeous , perfect, man in my life. "so who is gonna start reading? ", Eddie spoke up looking around the room. Jill spoke up, "oh can I read please?", her excitement had always been infectious, like it is now. Adrian passed the book to her, "sure jailbait, seeing as you are the most enthusiastic about this." he winked, and Jill poked her tongue out at him as she started reading.

**I FELT HER FEAR BEFORE I heard her screams.**

**Her nightmare pulsed into me, shaking me out of my own dream, which had hadsomething to do with a beach and some hot guy rubbing suntan oil on me.**  
>A few snickered around us, to which Eddie and lissa replied, "only you rose, only you" . Even dimitri passed a smile.<p>

**Images—hers, not mine—tumbled through my mind: fire and blood, the smell of smoke, the twisted metal of a car. The pictures wrapped around me, suffocating me,**

"is that even possible? " Christian asked. To which Mia replied," it's just an expression, dumbass "

**until some rational part of my brain**

" rational? " scoffed Adrian pretending to be shocked. I flipped him off for that comment." will you just shut up. "

**reminded me that this wasn't my dream.**

**I woke up, strands of long, dark hairsticking to my forehead.**

" you don't need to explain about your hours, it's right in front of us ", said non other than drunken up moroi. " Adrian just shut up " Sydney said smacking him behind his head.

**Lissa lay in her bed, thrashing and screaming. I bolted out of mine, quickly crossing the few feet that separated us.**

**"Liss," I said, shaking her. "Liss, wake up."**

**Her screams dropped off, replaced by soft whimpers. "Andre," she moaned. "Oh God."**

**At this lissa and I shared a glance her emotions flooding out to me, longing, sadness, but somewhere in the midst of it was happiness that she was able to save me. I helped her sit up. "Liss, you aren't there anymore. Wake up."**

**After a few moments, her eyes fluttered open, and in the dim lighting, I could see a flicker of consciousness start to take over. Her frantic breathing slowed, and she leaned into me, resting her head against my shoulder. I put an arm around her and ran a hand over her hair.**

**"It's okay," I told her gently. "Everything's okay."**

**"I had that dream."**

At this everyone glanced sympathetically at lissa, who was oblivious as her head was down no doubt missing her family.

**"Yeah. I know."**

**We sat like that for several minutes, not saying anything else. When I felt her emotions calm down, I leaned over to the nightstand between our beds and turned on the lamp. It glowed dimly, but neither of us really needed much to see by. Attracted by the light, our housemate's cat, Oscar, leapt up onto the sill of the open window. He gave me a wide berth—animals don't like dhampirs, for whatever reason—but jumped onto the bed and rubbed his head against Lissa, purring softly.**

At this there was a soft echo of "aww", from Sydney and Jill.

**Animals didn't have a problem with Moroi, and they all loved Lissa in particular.**

"because she is just so lovable, " smiled sparky. I made a fake gagging sound at his googly eyes towards lissa, to which he just narrowed his eyes.

**Smiling, she scratched his chin, and I felt her calm further.**

**"When did we last do a feeding?" I asked, studying her face.**

"this should not be what I think it is. " mum said. Abe gently rubbed her arm and said," relax janine, it was for survival. " mum called down. Hmm I wonder if something is going on between them.

**Her fair skin was paler than usual. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and there was an air of frailty about her. School had been hectic this week, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd given her blood. "It's been like…more than two days, hasn't it? Three? Why didn't you say anything?"**

**She shrugged and wouldn't meet my eyes. "You were busy. I didn't want to—"**

**"Screw that," I said, shifting into a better position. No wonder she seemed so weak. Oscar, not wanting me any closer, leapt down and returned to the window, where he could watch at a safe distance. "Come on. Let's do this."**

" desperate much, little dhampir? " Adrian asked wriggling his brows. Dimitri tensed behind me. I shot him a glare. At which he atleast shut up.

**"Rose—"**

**"Come on. It'll make you feel better."**

**I tilted my head and tossed my hair back, baring my neck. I saw her hesitate, but the sight of my neck and what it offered proved too powerful. A hungry expression crossed her face, and her lips parted slightly, exposing the fangs she normally kept hidden while living among humans.**

"Nice form liss. " Eddie commented.

**Those fangs contrasted oddly with the rest of her features. With her pretty face and pale blond hair, she looked more like an angel than a vampire.**

Everyone seemed to agree here, which in turn made lissa blush.

**As her teeth neared my bare skin, I felt my heart race with a mix of fear and anticipation. I always hated feeling the latter, but it was nothing I could help, a weakness I couldn't shake.**

**Her fangs bit into me, hard, and I cried out at the brief flare of pain. Then it faded, replaced by a wonderful, golden joy that spread through my body. It was better than any of the times I'd been drunk or high.**

"Drunk or high? " janine exclaimed. I just gave an indifferent shrug. What can I say here?

**Better than sex—or so I imagined, since I'd never done it. It was a blanket of pure, refined pleasure, wrapping me up and promising everything would be right in the world. On and on it went. The chemicals in her saliva triggered an endorphin rush, and I lost track of the world, lost track of who I was.**

**Then, regretfully, it was over. It had taken less than a minute.**

"you shouldn't have been feeling regretful rose. "Alberta chastised.

**She pulled back, wiping her hand across her lips as she studied me. "You okay?"**

**"I…yeah." I lay back on the bed, dizzy from the blood loss.**

"which in other words means I'm not " commented sparky.

**"I just need to sleep it off. I'm fine."**

**Her pale, jade-green eyes watched me with concern. She stood up. "I'm going to get you something to eat."**

**My protests came awkwardly to my lips, and she left before I could get out a sentence. The buzz from her bite had lessened as soon as she broke the connection, but some of it still lingered in my veins, and I felt a goofy smile cross my lips. Turning my head, I glanced up at Oscar, still sitting in the window.**

**"You don't know what you're missing," I told him.**

"rose talking to an animal, this is the sign that she actually is crazy. " said Christian." shut up sparky " I replied. Shooting him a not so approving glance.

**His attention was on something outside. Hunkering down into a crouch, he puffed out his jet-black fur. His tail started twitching.**

**My smile faded, and I forced myself to sit up. The world spun, and I waited for it to right itself before trying to stand. When I managed it, the dizziness set in again and this time refused to leave. Still, I felt okay enough to stumble to the window and peer out with Oscar. He eyed me warily, scooted over a little, and then returned to whatever had held his attention.**

"which was? " asked Sydney." you'll see " I replied impatiently.

**A warm breeze—unseasonably warm for a Portland fall—played with my hair as I leaned out. The street was dark and relatively quiet. It was three in the morning, just about the only time a college campus settled down, at least somewhat. The house in which we'd rented a room for the past eight months**

"eight months, you were there for eight months? And no one was able to find you? " asked my mom apparently finding it highly shocking." what can I say I'm awesome right " I smirked, earning snickers and scoffs.

**sat on a residential street with old, mismatched houses. Across the road, a streetlight flickered, nearly ready to burn out. It still cast enough light for me to make out the shapes of cars and buildings. In our own yard, I could see the silhouettes of trees and bushes.**

**And a man watching me.**

At this Sydney and Jill gasped.

**I jerked back in surprise. A figure stood by a tree in the yard, about thirty feet away, where he could easily see through the window. He was close enough that I probably could have thrown something and hit him.**

Cue laughter.

**He was certainly close enough that he could have seen what Lissa and I had just done.**

I turned to dimitri, "did you?" . He nodded.

**The shadows covered him so well that even with my heightened sight, I couldn't make out any of his features, save for his height. He was tall. Really tall. He stood there for just a moment, barely discernible, and then stepped back, disappearing into the shadows cast by the trees on the far side of the yard. I was pretty sure I saw someone else move nearby and join him before the blackness swallowed them both.**

"that is impossible! " exclaimed Christian looking at us like we all grew two heads. Lissa smacked him for me," for the love of God Christian just shut up. "

"you certainly have a way with words " Sydney observed.

**Whoever these figures were, Oscar didn't like them. Not counting me, he usually got along with most people, growing upset only when someone posed an immediate danger. The guy outside hadn't done anything threatening to Oscar, but the cat had sensed something, something that put him on edge.**

**Something similar to what he always sensed in me.**

**Icy fear raced through me, almost—but not quite—eradicating the lovely bliss of Lissa's bite. Backing up from the window, I jerked on a pair of jeans that I found on the floor, nearly falling over in the process.**

Adrian and Mia snickered thinking about the scenario. I narrowed my eyes at them, looking at me their smile disappeared.

**Once they were on, I grabbed my coat and Lissa's, along with our wallets. Shoving my feet into the first shoes I saw, I headed out the door.**

**Downstairs, I found her in the cramped kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator. One of our housemates, Jeremy, sat at the table, hand on his forehead as he stared sadly at a calculus book.**

"I would be too if i had calculus in front of me. " said jill.

"main question is why was he even awake?" abe said. Speaking for the first time since the Story started. Mostly people nodded with him. What can I say, so I just shrugged. Lissa regarded me with surprise.

**"You shouldn't be up."**

**"We have to go. Now."**

**Her eyes widened, and then a moment later, understanding clicked in. "Are you…really? Are you sure?"**

**I nodded. I couldn't explain how I knew for sure. I just did.**

" No you didn't. The cat gave you away. " said none other than Pyro. " even if the cat gave me away, at least I was smart enough to figure it out. " I poked my tongue our at him. He did the same. Before we could've said anything, Jill started reading again.

**Jeremy watched us curiously. "What's wrong?"**

**An idea came to mind. "Liss, get his car keys."**

**He looked back and forth between us. "What are you—"**

**Lissa unhesitatingly walked over to him. Her fear poured into me through our psychic bond, but there was something else too: her complete faith that I would take care of everything, that we would be safe. Like always, I hoped I was worthy of that kind of trust.**

"you've always been rose " Lissa said sincerity and love pouring out of her eyes. I smiled at her saying a silent thank you.

**She smiled broadly and gazed directly into his eyes. For a moment, Jeremy just stared, still confused, and then I saw the thrall seize him. His eyes glazed over, and he regarded her adoringly.**

**"We need to borrow your car," she said in a gentle voice. "Where are your keys?"**

" COMPULSION" screeched janine "That is wrong on so many levels, you shouldn't have done that" Lissa and I looked down suddenly finding the design of carpet very amusing.

**He smiled, and I shivered. I had a high resistance to compulsion, but I could still feel its effects when it was directed at another person. That, and I'd been taught my entire life that using it was wrong.**

"at least you learnt something " muttered mom under her breath.

**Reaching into his pocket, Jeremy handed over a set of keys hanging on a large red key chain.**

**"Thank you," said Lissa. "And where is it parked?"**

**"Down the street," he said dreamily. "At the corner. By Brown." Four blocks away.**

**"Thank you," she repeated, backing up. "As soon as we leave, I want you to go back to studying. Forget you ever saw us tonight."**

**He nodded obligingly. I got the impression he would have walked off a cliff for her right then if she'd asked. All humans were susceptible to compulsion, but Jeremy appeared weaker than most. That came in handy right now.**

"poor guy must've been so confused in the morning " said Mia.

**"Come on," I told her. "We've got to move."**

**We stepped outside, heading toward the corner he'd named. I was still dizzy from the bite and kept stumbling, unable to move as quickly as I wanted. Lissa had to catch hold of me a few times to stop me from falling. All the time, that anxiety rushed into me from her mind. I tried my best to ignore it; I had my own fears to deal with.**

**"Rose…what are we going to do if they catch us?" she whispered.**

**"They won't," I said fiercely. "I won't let them."**

" overconfident much " Adrian commented. I just rolled my eyes at him not even gracing him with an answer.

**"But if they've found us—"**

**"They found us before. They didn't catch us then. We'll just drive over to the train station and go to L.A. They'll lose the trail."**

" you make it sound so simple " said Christian sarcastically

**I made it sound simple.**

I looked at him and said," it's just soo creepy that we think alike. " Christian nodded.

**I always did, even though there was nothing simple about being on the run from the people we'd grown up with. We'd been doing it for two years, hiding wherever we could and just trying to finish high school. Our senior year had just started, and living on a college campus had seemed safe. We were so close to freedom.**

**She said nothing more, and I felt her faith in me surge up once more. This was the way it had always been between us. I was the one who took action, who made sure things happened—sometimes recklessly so.**

Eddie raised one eyebrow at me. Am I the only one who can't do it?. "fine most of the time" I said exasperated.

**She was the more reasonable one, the one who thought things out and researched them extensively before acting. Both styles had their uses, but at the moment, recklessness was called for. We didn't have time to hesitate.**

**Lissa and I had been best friends ever since kindergarten, when our teacher had paired us together for writing lessons. Forcing five-year-olds to spell Vasilisa Dragomir and Rosemarie Hathaway was beyond cruel, and we'd—or rather, I'd—responded appropriately. I'd chucked my book at our teacher and called her a fascist bastard. I hadn't known what those words meant, but I'd known how to hit a moving target.**

Everyone laughed at that. Abe commented proudly, "that's my daughter".

**Lissa and I had been inseparable ever since.**

"so that is how you became friend, just like that? " asked Adrian." yeah, I was just that awesome " I replied. Making him snicker

**"Do you hear that?" she asked suddenly.**

**It took me a few seconds to pick up what her sharper senses already had. Footsteps, moving fast. I grimaced. We had two more blocks to go.**

**"We've got to run for it," I said, catching hold of her arm.**

**"But you can't—"**

**"Run."**

**It took every ounce of my willpower not to pass out on the sidewalk. My body didn't want to run after losing blood or while still metabolizing the effects of her saliva. But I ordered my muscles to stop their bitching and clung to Lissa as our feet pounded against the concrete. Normally I could have outrun her without any extra effort—particularly since she was barefoot—but tonight, she was all that held me upright.**

**The pursuing footsteps grew louder, closer. Black stars danced before my eyes. Ahead of us, I could make out Jeremy's green Honda. Oh God, if we could just make it—**

**Ten feet from the car, a man stepped directly into our path.**

Sydney and Jill gasped. They were such girls.

**We came to a screeching halt, and I jerked Lissa back by her arm. It was him, the guy I'd seen across the street watching me. He was older than us, maybe mid-twenties, and as tall as I'd figured, probably six-six or six-seven. And under different circumstances—say, when he wasn't holding up our desperate escape—I would have thought he was hot.**

"the first thing that came into your mind was this? You surely have priority issues little dhampir. " said none other than Adrian..

**Shoulder-length brown hair, tied back in a short ponytail. Dark brown eyes. A long brown coat-a duster, I thought it was called.**

**But his hotness was irrelevant now.**

" Rosemarie Hathaway said someone's hotness was irrelevant. The world must be ending. Gasp! " for which I smacked Adrian.

**He was only an obstacle keeping Lissa and me away from the car and our freedom. The footsteps behind us slowed, and I knew our pursuers had caught up. Off to the sides, I detected more movement, more people closing in. God. They'd sent almost a dozen guardians to retrieve us. I couldn't believe it. The queen herself didn't travel with that many.**

**Panicked and not entirely in control of my higher reasoning,**

"you have higher reasoning? When did this happen? " mocked Christian. I gave him a warning glare.

**I acted out of instinct. I pressed up to Lissa, keeping her behind me and away from the man who appeared to be the leader.**

**"Leave her alone," I growled. "Don't touch her."**

**His face was unreadable, but he held out his hands in what was apparently supposed to be some sort of calming gesture, like I was a rabid animal he was planning to sedate.**

More laughter. I glanced accusingly at dimitri, who had the decency to shrug.

**"I'm not going to—"**

**He took a step forward. Too close.**

**I attacked him, leaping out in an offensive maneuver I hadn't used in two years, not since Lissa and I had run away. The move was stupid, another reaction born of instinct and fear. And it was hopeless. He was a skilled guardian, not a novice who hadn't finished his training. He also wasn't weak and on the verge of passing out.**

"At least you admit ", whispered dimitri in my ear.

**And man, was he fast. I'd forgotten how fast guardians could be, how they could move and strike like cobras.**

" Nice simile ", said Sydney.

**He knocked me off as though brushing away a fly, and his hands slammed into me and sent me backwards. I don't think he meant to strike that hard—probably just intended to keep me away—but my lack of coordination interfered with my ability to respond. Unable to catch my footing, I started to fall, heading straight toward the sidewalk at a twisted angle, hip-first.**

"gotta hurt a lot " said Eddie. I nodded grimacing which I was damn sure looked something like a constipated fish.

**It was going to hurt. A lot.**

" great minds think alike " I said giving a hi-five to Eddie.

There were grimaces on the faces of moroi and Sydney.

**Only it didn't.**

**Just as quickly as he'd blocked me, the man reached out and caught my arm, keeping me upright. When I'd steadied myself, I noticed he was staring at me—or, more precisely, at my neck. Still disoriented, I didn't get it right away. Then, slowly, my free hand reached up to the side of my throat and lightly touched the wound Lissa had made earlier. When I pulled my fingers back, I saw slick, dark blood on my skin. Embarrassed, I shook my hair so that it fell forward around my face. My hair was thick and long and completely covered my neck. I'd grown it out for precisely this reason.**

**The guy's dark eyes lingered on the now-covered bite a moment longer and then met mine. I returned his look defiantly and quickly jerked out of his hold. He let me go, though I knew he could have restrained me all night if he'd wanted.**

"was that an hidden innuendo Lil dhampir " Adrian said wriggling his brows. I tried ignoring him, let's see how long it will last.

**Fighting the nauseating dizziness, I backed toward Lissa again, bracing myself for another attack. Suddenly, her hand caught hold of mine. "Rose," she said quietly. "Don't."**

**Her words had no effect on me at first, but calming thoughts gradually began to settle in my mind, coming across through the bond. It wasn't exactly compulsion—she wouldn't use that on me—but it was effectual, as was the fact that we were hopelessly outnumbered and outclassed. Even I knew struggling would be pointless. The tension left my body, and I sagged in defeat.**

**Sensing my resignation, the man stepped forward, turning his attention to Lissa. His face was calm. He swept her a bow and managed to look graceful doing it, which surprised me considering his Height, "My name is Dimitri Belikov," he said. I could hear a faint Russian accent. "I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, Princess."**

" and here I thought you were going to take us to Narnia, you know you completely shattered my dreams. " I said making a mock disapproving face at him. Every one chuckled around us. Dimitri just rolled his eyes but amusement shining through them.

" so this is like the end of the chapter guys, who'll read next? " asked Jill. Eddie spoke up," I'll read next " Jill passed him the book.

After Reading the first chapter, I was afraid of what was about to come in the coming chapters and books. I pray to god, please don't let the lust charm be there.

_**AN: so this is the first chapter guys, do tell me what you think of it. Even if you think that this is worst piece of writing you've ever read. You can comment, "it sucked so much that I won't ever read another book, I'll hunt you down and make you pay" **_

**_Jk guys don't review like that. _**

**_Seriously just kidding. _**

**_Thank you for bearing with me, lots of love _**

**_-Anirvina xx_**


	3. Chapter 2

**Dimitri POV**

Listening to roza's thoughts was till now very amusing ,but frankly if these were my thoughts being read out in front of everyone I would've been very very uncomfortable. But as always rose never ceases to amaze me. She is taking everything like a pro, even when Ivashkov and Ozera are irritating the shit out of everyone. I can't deny I'm really irritated by them, especially by Adrian.

"Voice testing, uhm uhm! " Eddie said faking his voice like when people test the voice on microphone. Rose and Lissa giggled, on the antics of his friend while me lets just say I love watching rose, and when she giggles (which I might tell you doesn't happen very often) she looks plain adorable, although I would never say that she is adorable on her face. Her cheeks which always sports a slight red tint intensifies, though not exactly blushing, I think you get the gist.

"Just read on Eddo " rose said smiling fondly, a look that I often give to my sisters on her face.

**MY HATRED NOTWITHSTANDING, I HAD to admit Dimitri Beli-whatever was pretty smart.**

" Rose actually thinking that someone is smart, when did that happen " scoffed Adrian. To which rose replied," when you stopped your man-whoring? " I guess a smart ass rose is never far away. Adrian narrowed his eyes at her, to which she narrowed her own. All the while Sydney, Mia and Lissa silently laughing.

I silently gestured to Eddie to start reading, before a fight broke out between them, it all comes down to damage control with these two, no actually it applies to Christian as well.

**After they'd carted us off to the airport to and onto the Academy's private jet, he'd taken one look at the two of us whispering and ordered us separated.**

**"Don't let them talk to each other," he warned the guardian who escorted me to the back of the plane. "Five minutes together, and they'll come up with an escape plan."**

**I shot him a haughty look and stormed off down the aisle. Never mind the fact we had been planning escape.**

" which was? " asked Mia. Rose shrugged," I don't exactly remember something along the line of setting up a fire and compulsion here and there. " Janine making an exasperated face while Abe's face looked something like a proud parent. While everyone else chuckled.

**As it was, things didn't look good for our heroes—or heroines, rather. Once we were in the air, our odds of escape dropped further. Even supposing a miracle occurred and I did manage to take out all ten guardians,**

"a very big miracle. " said Mia.

**we'd sort of have a problem in getting off the plane. I figured they might have parachutes aboard somewhere, but in the unlikely event I'd be able to operate one, there was still that little issue of survival, seeing as we'd probably land somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.**

**No, we weren't getting off this plane until it landed in backwoods Montana. I'd have to think of something then, something that involved getting past the Academy's magical wards and ten times as many guardians.**

"Oh. That's no problem, piece of cake " said Christian, sarcasm dripping off every word.

**Yeah. No problem.**

" funny how we think alike, huh Pyro ? " rose said matching Christian's grin.

**Although Lissa sat at the front with the Russian guy, her fear sang back to me, pounding inside my head like a hammer. My concern for her cut into my fury. They couldn't take her back there, not to that place. I wondered if Dimitri might have hesitated if he could feel what I did and if he knew what I knew. Probably not. He didn't care.**

"I did . I cared roza, even then I cared." I whispered to rose. She turned her face to me, radiating out so much love, that it sometimes felt that I can breathe. I chastly kissed her lips and she snuggled back to me.

**As it was, her emotions grew so strong that for a moment, I had the disorienting sensation of sitting in her seat—in her skin even. It happened sometimes, and without much warning, she'd pull me right into her head. Dimitri's tall frame sat beside me, and my hand—her hand—gripped a bottle of water. He leaned forward to pick up something,revealing six tiny symbols tattooed on the back of his neck: molnija marks. They looked like two streaks of jagged lightning crossing in an X symbol. One for each Strigoi he'd killed. Above them was a twisting line, sort of like a snake, that marked him as a guardian. The promise mark.**

**Blinking, I fought against her and shifted back into my own head with a grimace. I hated when that happened.**

"me too, at that time but now I kinda miss it" said Lissa sadly. "how does it feel now that the bond is broken" asked jill. "I don't know how to describe it, I feel disoriented, sometimes empty. I was soo used to having at least one person to whom I don't have to say anything, they just knew, a sense of security is what I've been missing since then " explained Lissa. Rose stood up and went to hug Lissa, Lissa wrapped her arms around Roza and rested her head on her chest. Every one felt silent, no more smartassness, or jokes.

Eddie continued reading

**Feeling Lissa's emotions was one thing, but slipping into her was something we both despised. She saw it as an invasion of privacy, so I usually didn't tell her when it happened. Neither of us could control it. It was another effect of the bond, a bond neither of us fully understood. Legends existed about psychic links between guardians and their Moroi, but the stories had never mentioned anything like this. We fumbled through it as best we could.**

"like I do "said jill." don't worry Jilly, I'll help you, we both will. ", rose smiled at her.

**Near the end of the flight, Dimitri walked back to where I sat and traded places with the guardian beside me. I pointedly turned away, staring out the window absentmindedly Several moments of silence passed. Finally, he said, "Were you really going to attack all of us?"**

**I didn't answer.**

" looks like you were very pissed off ", observed Mia." I was " agreed rose.

**"Doing that…protecting her like that—it was very brave." He paused. "Stupid, but still brave. Why did you even try it?"**

**Lissa's POV**

I missed Rose, I missed our friendship, all those unspoken words. Although rose can still read me like an open book. After I became queen, I got busy, Rose became Guardian, my Guardian, some would say she is always with me so why am I complaining , but even if she is, I am always soo busy and rose is always looking over the security. We grew up. We hardly have any time for a simple talk , a simple sleepover, or a lunch date where I am not a queen, or royal, or even a moroi, and she is not my Guardian, or a dhampir,where we are just best friends, even that feels like luxury we can't afford.

**I glanced over at him, brushing my hair out of my face so I could look him levelly in the eye. "Because I'm her guardian." I turned back toward the window.**

I loved how she always used to say that she's my Guardian. No matter what everyone else said, we both always believed in it, we didn't knew of other options not that we needed it.

**After another quiet moment, he stood up and returned to the front of the jet.**

**When we landed, Lissa and I had no choice but to let the commandos drive us out to the Academy. Our car stopped at the gate, and our driver spoke with guards who verified we weren't Strigoi about to go off on a killing spree. After a minute, they let us pass on through the wards and up to the Academy itself. It was around sunset—the start of the vampiric day—and the campus lay wrapped in shadows.**

"Yeah you guys and your unholy schedule " murmured Sydney. Everyone chuckled , being an alchemist her antics were amusing.

**It probably looked the same, sprawling and gothic. The Moroi were big on tradition; nothing ever changed with them. This school wasn't as old as the ones back in Europe, but it had been built in the same style. The buildings boasted elaborate, almost churchlike architecture, with high peaks and stone carvings. Wrought iron gates enclosed small gardens and doorways here and there. After living on a college campus, I had a new appreciation for just how much this place resembled a university more than a typical high school.**

**We were on the secondary campus, which was divided into lower and upper schools. Each was built around a large open quadrangle decorated with stone paths and enormous, century-old trees. We were going toward the upper school's quad, which had academic buildings on one side, while dhampir dormitories and the gym sat opposite. Moroi dorms sat on one of the other ends, and opposite them were the administrative buildings that also served the lower school. Younger students lived on the primary campus, farther to the west.**

"why are explaining it in such detail, we know about it. We Lived There For Most Of Our Lives! " complained Christian. Even if he is my boyfriend I get irritated by him sometimes.

" Sparky trust me no one wants to hear it but it's in the book " said rose, for once being reasonable.

**Around all the campuses was space, space, and more space. We were in Montana, after all, miles away from any real city. The air felt cool in my lungs and smelled of pine and wet, decaying leaves. Overgrown forests ringed the perimeters of the Academy, and during the day, you could see mountains rising up in the distance.**

"sounds pretty " sighed Sydney. All the former St Vlad's students nodding.

**As we walked into the main part of the upper school, I broke from my guardian and ran up to Dimitri.**

**"Hey, Comrade."**

**He kept walking and wouldn't look at me. "You want to talk now?**

**"Are you taking us to Kirova?"**

"Rose, this is not how you talk about your seniors " scolded Janine. Like it affects rose. Yeah sure. Rose scoffed, mockingly.

**"Headmistress Kirova," he corrected. On the other side of him, Lissa shot me a look that said, Don't start something.**

**"Headmistress. Whatever. She's still a self-righteous old bit—"**

**My words faded as the guardians led us through a set of doors-straight into the commons. I sighed. Were these people really so cruel?**

"yes " said dimitri." I didn't ask for reply " said rose, rolling her eyes." then nay ve you shouldn't have asked the question? " quirked Chris. " I didn't ask them, I just thought it " said rose.

**There had to be at least a dozen ways to get to Kirova's office,**

" rose would know it, considering the amont of time you spent there. " said Eddie. Rose gave a devilish grin.

**and they were taking us right through the center of the commons.**

**And it was breakfast time.**

**Novice guardians—dhampirs like me—and Moroi sat together, eating and socializing, faces alight with whatever current gossip held the Academy's attention. When we entered, the loud buzz of conversation stopped instantly, like someone had flipped a switch. Hundreds of sets of eyes swiveled toward us.**

"Oh man I remember that day. "Eddie said clearly remembering the day." you know Mason was soo shocked that I think he would've fainted, even his hands were trembling " Eddie said to rose. We all chuckled thinking about that.

**I returned the stares of my former classmates with a lazy grin, trying to get a sense as to whether things had changed. Nope. Didn't seem like it. Camille Conta still looked like the prim, perfectly groomed bitch I remembered, still the self-appointed leader of the Academy's royal Moroi cliques. Off to the side, Lissa's gawky near-cousin Natalie watched with wide eyes, as innocent and naïve as before.**

I don't think she was that naive all along.

**And on the other side of the room…well, that was interesting. Aaron. Poor, poor Aaron, who'd no doubt had his heart broken when Lissa left. He still looked as cute as ever—maybe more so now—with those same golden looks that complemented hers so well. His eyes followed her every move. Yes. Definitely not over her. It was sad, really, because Lissa had never really been all that into him.**

I could see the smug look on Chris' face. BOYS!

**I think she'd gone out with him simply because it seemed like the expected thing to do.**

**But what I found most interesting was that Aaron had apparently found a way to pass the time without her. Beside him, holding his hand, was a Moroi girl who looked about eleven**

"I don't look eleven! "exclaimed Mia. To which rose replied," belive me Mia you do. " Mia grumbled clearly not happy, muttering under her breath.

**but had to be older, unless he'd become a pedophile during our absence. With plump little cheeks and blond ringlets, she looked like a porcelain doll. A very pissed off and evil porcelain doll. She gripped his hand tightly and shot Lissa a look of such burning hatred that it stunned me. What the hell was that all about? She was no one I knew. Just a jealous girlfriend, I guessed. I'd be pissed too if my guy was watching someone else like that.**

"that is supposed to be a warning for you Belikov. " said rose pointedly. " I don't need others when I have you baby. " Dimitri smiled. To say that it shocked us, was an understatement. Dimitri never ever talks like this, he is not a guy to show PDA. I guess having rose in you life does that to you.

**Our walk of shame mercifully ended, though our new setting—Headmistress Kirova's office—didn't really improve things. The old hag looked**

"Rosemarie respect. " janine said exasperated. Rose just rolled her eyes.

**exactly like I remembered, sharp-nosed and gray-haired. She was tall and slim, like most Moroi, and had always reminded me of a vulture. I knew her well because I'd spent a lot of time in her office.**

"we know " Janine and Abe said together." wait wait mum knew because she used to get letters regarding it but how did you know old man? " rose asked.

" I always knew Rose, remember even if you think I abandoned you, I never did. I was always there for your junior year graduation, hell I was there, even for your school dance when you were 5. You just never knew. " explained Abe. Rose had tears glistening in her eyes, but her smile was like of a little girl who believes that her father is a superman. I am happy, her entire life rose thought that her parents didn't care. Now slowly they are mending their bonds, for which I was extremely grateful, Lord knows how much she deserves happiness.

Eddie continued reading.

**Most of our escorts left us once Lissa and I were seated, and I felt a little less like a prisoner. Only Alberta, the captain of the school's guardians, and Dimitri stayed. They took up positions along the wall, looking stoic and terrifying, just as their job description required.**

All the guardians laughed at this.

**Kirova fixed her angry eyes on us and opened her mouth to begin what would no doubt be a major bitch session.**

All the former St Vlad students chuckled. "oh, how I love reading your thoughts Lil dhampir" Adrian grinned.

**A deep, gentle voice stopped her.**

**"Vasilisa."**

**Startled, I realized there was someone else in the room. I hadn't noticed. Careless for a guardian, even a novice one.**

**With a great deal of effort, Victor Dashkov rose from a corner chair. Prince Victor Dashkov. Lissa sprang up and ran to him, throwing her arms around his frail body.**

**"Uncle," she whispered. She sounded on the verge of tears as she tightened her grip.**

**With a small smile, he gently patted her back. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you safe, Vasilisa."**

"I think we have. " rose said to the book Victor." what do you mean by that? " asked Sydney curiously. Rose replied," hold your horse we'll get back to you. Keep listening you'll know. "

**He looked toward me. "And you too, Rose."**

**I nodded back, trying to hide how shocked I was. He'd been sick when we left, but this—this was horrible. He was Natalie's father, only about forty or so, but he looked twice that age. Pale. Withered. Hands shaking. My heart broke watching him. With all the horrible people in the world, it didn't seem fair that this guy should get a disease that was going to kill him young and ultimately keep him from becoming king.**

"oh how wrong was I. " muttered rose but strange thing was no one else heard that, or was that inside my head. I will need to observe more carefully.

**Although not technically her uncle—the Moroi used family terms very loosely, especially the royals—Victor was a close friend of Lissa's family and had gone out of his way to help her after her parents had died. I liked him; he was the first person I was happy to see here.**

**Kirova let them have a few more moments and then stiffly drew Lissa back to her seat.**

**Time for the lecture.**

**It was a good one—one of Kirova's best, which was saying something. She was a master at them. I swear that was the only reason she'd gone into school administration, because I had yet to see any evidence of her actually liking kids.**

"that's true, I've never even seen her politely talking to a student, forget about actually liking them. " said Mia.

**The rant covered the usual topics: responsibility reckless behavior, self-centeredness…Bleh. I immediately found myself spacing out, alternatively pondering the logistics of escaping through the window in her office.**

" which was highly unlikely. " said rose.

**But when the tirade shifted to me—well, that was when I tuned back in.**

**"You, Miss Hathaway, broke the most sacred promise among our kind: the promise of a guardian to protect a Moroi. It is a great trust. A trust that you violated by selfishly taking the princess away from here. The Strigoi would love to finish off the Dragomirs; you nearly enabled them to do it."**

**"Rose didn't kidnap me." Lissa spoke before I could, her voice and face calm, despite her uneasy feelings. "I wanted to go. Don't blame her."**

**Ms. Kirova tsked at us both and paced the office, hands folded behind her narrow back.**

" You don't need to describe her back rose. " groaned Christian." It's part of the package Pyro. If you are soo irritated then stop reading." Rose replied back.

**"Miss Dragomir, you could have been the one who orchestrated the entire plan for all I know, but it was still her responsibility to make sure you didn't carry it out. If she'd done her duty, she would have notified someone. If she'd done her duty, she would have kept you safe."**

**I snapped.**

**"I did do my duty!" I shouted, jumping up from my chair. Dimitri and Alberta both flinched but left me alone since I wasn't trying to hit anyone.**

Janine sighed in relief, "thank God. "

**Yet.**

"I guess I spoke too soon. " said janine.

**"I did keep her safe! I kept her safe when none of you"—I made a sweeping gesture around the room—"could do it. I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to do. You certainly weren't going to."**

**Through the bond, I felt Lissa trying to send me calming messages, again urging me not to let anger get the best of me.**

"yeah Rose you should listen to her. "said Eddie. Rose rolled her eyes.

**Too late.**

**Kirova stared at me, her face blank. "Miss Hathaway, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of how taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically secured environment is protecting her. Unless there's something you aren't telling us?"**

**I bit my lip.**

**"I see. Well, then. By my estimation, the only reason you left—aside from the novelty of it,**

At this all the Moroi rolled there eyes, because frankly anyone who knows Rose knows she never does anything without an ulterior motive.

**no doubt—was to avoid the consequences of that horrible, destructive stunt you pulled just before your disappearance."**

**"No, that's not—"**

**"And that only makes my decision that much easier. As a Moroi, the princess must continue on here at the Academy for her own safety, but we have no such obligations to you. You will be sent away as soon as possible."**

"that was harsh." said Mia. "tell me about it. " grumbled Rose.

**My cockiness dried up. "I…what?"**

**Lissa stood up beside me. "You can't do that! She's my guardian."**

**"She is no such thing, particularly since she isn't even a guardian at all. She's still a novice."**

**"But my parents—"**

**"I know what your parents wanted, God rest their souls, but things have changed. Miss Hathaway is expendable. She doesn't deserve to be a guardian, and she will leave."**

"I've always hated how the Moroi think of dhampirs, you guys lay your lives for us, and they take you for granted. The least they can do is treat you guys like living beings, like equals." I said. Everyone went silent. Chris kissed my forehead. And Eddie continued reading.

**I stared at Kirova, unable to believe what I was hearing. "Where are you going to send me? To my mom in Nepal?**

Janine flinched at this

**Did she even know I was gone?**

" of course I knew. " Janine murdered softly.

**Or maybe you'll send me off to my father?"**

Abe narrowed his eyes at Rose, she reciprocated the action right back.

**Her eyes narrowed at the bite in that last word. When I spoke again, my voice was so cold, I barely recognized it.**

**"Or maybe you're going to try to send me off to be a blood whore. Try that, and we'll be gone by the end of the day."**

"I bet she misses you now Rose. You were the only one who spoke to her like that. I can go as far as to say that you kept her on her toes. " smirked Eddie.

" I bet she had a time slot reserved only for me in her everyday schedule. " grinned Rose. Everyone of us laughed at that.

**"Miss Hathaway," she hissed, "you are out of line."**

**"They have a bond." Dimitri's low, accented voice broke the heavy tension, and we all turned toward him. I think Kirova had forgotten he was there, but I hadn't. His presence was way too powerful to ignore.**

Rose and Dimitri exchanged a look. No matter how many times I felt like gagging or brushing my teeth after being with them I am happy that my best friend, my sister got what she reserved, true happiness. If some one deserved their happily ever after it's them.

**He still stood against the wall, looking like some sort of cowboy sentry in that ridiculous long coat of his.**

Everyone laughed at this and Dimitri rolled his eyes.

**He looked at me, not Lissa, his dark eyes staring straight through me. "Rose knows what Vasilisa is feeling. Don't you?"**

**I at least had the satisfaction of seeing Kirova caught off guard as she glanced between us and Dimitri. "No…that's impossible. That hasn't happened in centuries."**

**"It's obvious," he said. "I suspected as soon as I started watching them."**

" Maybe we should use the term 'stalking' here " said Adrian making air quotes.

**Neither Lissa nor I responded, and I averted my eyes from his.**

**"That is a gift," murmured Victor from his corner. "A rare and wonderful thing."**

**"The best guardians always had that bond," added Dimitri. "In the stories."**

**Kirova's outrage returned. "Stories that are centuries old," she exclaimed. "Surely you aren't suggesting we let her stay at the Academy after everything she's done?"**

**He shrugged. "She might be wild and disrespectful, but if she has potential—"**

**"Wild and disrespectful?" I interrupted. "Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?"**

" Rose you don't snap at people who are actually taking your side. " Janine said. I don't think her words have any effect on her. Who am I kidding rose Hathaway doesn't get affected by many people.

**"Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian now," said Kirova. "Her sanctioned guardian."**

**"You got cheap foreign labor to protect Lissa?"**

" That was rude rose. " said Mia. Even rose agreed at that." Sorry comrade. " said rose imitating a perfect puppy dog face. Dimitri shook his head, and smiled. Rose got over to him and snuggled to his chest.

**That was pretty mean of me to say—particularly since most Moroi and their guardians were of Russian or Romanian descent—but the comment seemed cleverer at the time than it really was. And it wasn't like I was one to talk. I might have been raised in the U.S., but my parents were foreign-born. My dhampir mother was Scottish—red-haired, with a ridiculous accent**

"My accent is not ridiculous "exclaimed Janine.

**—and I'd been told my Moroi dad was Turkish. That genetic combination had given me skin the same color as the inside of an almond, along with what I liked to think were semi-exotic desert-princess features:**

" Arrogant much? " said Adrian raising his eyebrows. Rose poked her tongue out at him.

**big dark eyes and hair so deep brown that it usually looked black. I wouldn't have minded inheriting the red hair, but we take what we get.**

**Kirova threw her hands up in exasperation and turned to him. "You see? Completely undisciplined! All the psychic bonds and very raw potential in the world can't make up for that. A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian."**

**"So teach her discipline. Classes just started. Put her back in and get her training again."**

**"Impossible. She'll still be hopelessly behind her peers."**

**"No, I won't," I argued. No one listened to me.**

"Oh don't I feel so loved. " rose said sarcastically.

**"Then give her extra training sessions," he said.**

**They continued on while the rest of us watched the exchange like it was a Ping-Pong game. My pride was still hurt over the ease with which Dimitri had tricked us, but it occurred to me that he might very well keep me here with Lissa. Better to stay at this hellhole than be without her. Through our bond, I could feel her trickle of hope.**

**"Who's going to put in the extra time?" demanded Kirova. "You?"**

**Dimitri's argument came to an abrupt stop. "Well, that's not what I—"**

" oh I would've paid anything to look at his face right then. " laughed Adrian and Christian gave him a high five.

**Kirova crossed her arms with satisfaction. "Yes. That's what I thought."**

**Clearly at a loss, he frowned. His eyes flicked toward Lissa and me, and I wondered what he saw. Two pathetic girls, looking at him with big, pleading eyes? Or two runaways who'd broken out of a high-security school and swiped half of Lissa's inheritance?**

" Two pathetic girls, looking at me with big, pleading eyes who also happens to have broken out of a high-security school and swiped half of Lissa's inheritance" said Dimitri as a matter of fact.

**"Yes," he said finally. "I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra sessions along with her normal ones."**

**"And then what?" retorted Kirova angrily. "She goes unpunished?"**

**"Find some other way to punish her," answered Dimitri. "Guardian numbers have gone down too much to risk losing another. A girl, in particular."**

**His unspoken words made me shudder, reminding me of my earlier statement about "blood whores." Few dhampir girls became guardians anymore.**

**Victor suddenly spoke up from his corner. "I'm inclined to agree with Guardian Belikov. Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent."**

**Ms. Kirova stared out her window. It was completely black outside. With the Academy's nocturnal schedule, morning and afternoon were relative terms. That, and they kept the windows tinted to block out excess light.**

**When she turned back around, Lissa met her eyes. "Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay."**

**Oh, Lissa, I thought. Be careful. Using compulsion on another Moroi was dangerous—particularly in front of witnesses. But Lissa was only using a tiny bit, and we needed all the help we could get. Fortunately, no one seemed to realize what was happening.**

"I should have guessed compulsion wouldn't be far away. " grumbled Dimitri.

**I don't even know if the compulsion made a difference, but finally, Kirova sighed.**

**"If Miss Hathaway stays, here's how it will be." She turned to me. "Your continued enrollment at St. Vladimir's is strictly probationary. Step out of line once, and you're gone. You will attend all classes and required trainings for novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Belikov in every spare moment you have—before and after classes. Other than that, you are banned from all social activities, except meals, and will stay in your dorm. Fail to comply with any of this, and you will be sent…away."**

"what that's it she didn't get you chained, or appointed like a dozen jailers at your tail. " asked Adrian sarcastically, making everyone laugh.

**I gave a harsh laugh. "Banned from all social activities? Are you trying to keep us apart?" I nodded toward Lissa. "Afraid we'll run away again?"**

" maybe yes? " said Christian.

**"I'm taking precautions. As I'm sure you recall, you were never properly punished for destroying school property. You have a lot to make up for." Her thin lips tightened into a straight line. "You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest you don't let your attitude endanger it."**

**I started to say it wasn't generous at all, but then I caught Dimitri's gaze. It was hard to read. He might have been telling me he believed in me. He might have been telling me I was an idiot to keep fighting with Kirova. I didn't know.**

"Definitely idiot " answered Dimitri. To which he received a well earned smack on his arm.

**Looking away from him for the second time during the meeting, I stared at the floor, conscious of Lissa beside me and her own encouragement burning in our bond. At long last, I exhaled and glanced back up at the headmistress.**

**"Fine. I accept."**

"So that's the e d of Chapter two guys. Who will read next? "asked Eddie. Adrian answered," I will. "

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE : thank you guys for your reviews. For the Grammer and punctuation error, all I can say is that I am writing this story on my phone so autocorrect sucks. Still I would try to give more consideration to it. Keep reading and reviewing guys. And one more thing I would like to tell you that I will try to update on alternate days, but during holidays I will try to update daily. Bc I've been diagnosed with severe migraine, and it's medicine kind of knocks me out. It's a three month course of Medicines.**_  
><em><strong>So yeah that's all for this time, see ya all peeps. Love you and stay healthy guys. -Anirvina <strong>_

_**P.S. Should I sign off with my full name or my nickname (anvi) **_

_**P. S. S. GUYS YOU SEND IN YOUR IDEAS IF YOU WANT, LIKE HOW A PARTICULAR SCENE YOU WORLD WANT TO PLAY OUT. BUT PLEASE P.M. ME FOR IT.**_


	4. Chapter 3 rose's pov

**Rose's POV**

"Guys before we start this chapter can we eat, I'm so hungry right now. " I asked everyone. They agreed so Dimitri and mum went off in the search of food.

" Can we sleep after this chapter, it's late and I'm tired " yawned July." yeah I'm tired as well. " said Christian." sparky shouldn't you be helping them, I mean you sent Janine Hathaway to the kitchen, you remember she's my mother right?" i raised my BOTH eyebrows. He ran straight to the kitchen, making all of us laugh.

After a decent dinner, Adrian started reading, I noticed everyone was looking tired.

**SENDING US STRAIGHT TO CLASS after our meeting seemed beyond cruel, but that's exactly what Kirova did. Lissa was led away, and I watched her go, glad the bond would allow me to keep reading her emotional temperature.**

"nice way to put it there, Rose. " said Lissa.

**They actually sent me to one of the guidance counselors first. He was an ancient Moroi guy, one I remembered from before I'd left.**

" you even remembered him? " asked Eddie. I nodded, what can I say I have awesome memory. Lissa chuckled, I send her a questioning glance. She shook her head. I was baffled.

**I honestly couldn't believe he was still around. The guy was so freaking old, he should have retired.**

Christian opened to give no doubt a sarcastic remark when Adrian stopped him, "wait wait there's more"

**Or died.**

Everyone laughed at this

**The visit took all of five minutes. He said nothing about my return and asked a few questions about what classes I'd taken in Chicago and Portland. He compared those against my old file and hastily scrawled out a new schedule. I took it sullenly and headed out to my first class.**

**Ugh. I'd forgotten how long the Academy's school day was. Novices and Moroi took separate classes during the first half of the day, which meant I wouldn't see Lissa until after lunch—if we had any afternoon classes together. Most of them were standard senior classes, so I felt my odds were pretty good. Slavic art struck me as the kind of elective no one signed up for, so hopefully they'd stuck her in there too.**

**Dimitri and Alberta escorted me to the guardians' gym for first period, neither one acknowledging my existence.**

"we did, we just choose to ignore you. " Dimitri replied. I rolled my eyes at him.

**Walking behind them, I saw how Alberta wore her hair in a short, pixie cut that showed her promise mark and molnija marks. A lot of female guardians did this. It didn't matter so much for me now, since my neck had no tattoos yet, but I didn't want to ever cut my hair.**

"you don't have to rose. " mun said looking at me. I nodded my head at her," I know. Dimitri explained to me. ". At this she made at funny face one which I couldn't understand.

**She and Dimitri didn't say anything and walked along almost like it was any other day. When we arrived, the reactions of my peers indicated it was anything but. They were in the middle of setting up when we entered the gym, and just like in the commons, all eyes fell on me. I couldn't decide if I felt like a rock star or a circus freak.**

"why does it have to be those two only? "asked Christian. I just shrugged what can I say.

**All right, then. If I was going to be stuck here for a while, I wasn't going to act afraid of them all anymore. Lissa and I had once held this school's respect, and it was time to remind everyone of that. Scanning the staring, openmouthed novices, I looked for a familiar face. Most of them were guys.**

"of course they were. " mum sad sadly.

**One caught my eye, and I could barely hold back my grin.**

**"Hey Mason, wipe the drool off your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time."**

Adults rolled their eyes in exasperation, and others just laughed." why can't you talk to me like that little dhampir? " asked Adrian." because I actually like him,? " I retorted. Adrian faked a hurt face," harsh Lil dhampir harsh. "

**A few snorts and snickers broke the awed silence, and Mason Ashford snapped out of his haze, giving me a lopsided smile. With red hair that stuck up everywhere and a smattering of freckles, he was nice-looking, though not exactly hot. He was also one of the funniest guys I knew. We'd been good friends back in the day.**

"what are you Fifty,? " mocked Mia.

**"This is my time, Hathaway. I'm leading today's session."**

**"Oh yeah?" I retorted. "Huh. Well, I guess this is a good time to think about me naked, then."**

**"It's always a good a time to think about you naked," added someone nearby, breaking the tension further. Eddie Castile. Another friend of mine.**

"that's it that's supposed to be my introduction? " asked Eddie mocking hurt. " okay okay, Eddie castile, my best brother, who has an amazing personality, and extremly good looking. How does that sound? "" better " a goofy grin appearing on his face..

**Dimitri shook his head and walked off, muttering something in Russian that didn't sound complimentary.**

" What did you say comrade? " I questioned him. He kissed my head and answered," nothing for you to worry about my roza. "

**But as for me…well, just like that, I was one of the novices again. They were an easygoing bunch, less focused on pedigree and politics than the Moroi students.**

" Lucky" muttered Mia.

**The class engulfed me, and I found myself laughing and seeing those I'd nearly forgotten about. Everyone wanted to know where we'd been; apparently Lissa and I had become legends. I couldn't tell them why we'd left, of course, so I offered up a lot of taunts and wouldn't-you-like-to-knows that served just as well.**

**The happy reunion lasted a few more minutes before the adult guardian who oversaw the training came over and scolded Mason for neglecting his duties.**

"Finally. " muttered Janine.

**Still grinning, he barked out orders to everyone, explaining what exercises to start with. Uneasily I realized I didn't know most of them.**

**"Come on, Hathaway," he said, taking my arm. "You can be my partner. Let's see what you've been doing all this time."**

**An hour later, he had his answer.**

**"Not practicing, huh?"**

**"Ow," I groaned, momentarily incapable of normal speech.**

"Why does these kind of thing happen only momentarily? And not like for a month? " asked Christian. I decided not to grace his question with an answer.

**He extended a hand and helped me up from the mat he'd knocked me down on—about fifty times.**

**"I hate you," I told him, rubbing a spot on my thigh that was going to have a wicked bruise tomorrow.**

Regretting saying it I muttered, "I wish I hadn't said that to him." . Dimitri tightened his grip on me. I reveled in his comfort.

**"You'd hate me more if I held back."**

**"Yeah, that's true," I agreed, staggering along as the class put the equipment back.**

**"You actually did okay."**

**"What? I just had my ass handed to me."**

"at least she admits. " said non other than sparky.

**"Well, of course you did. It's been two years. But hey, you're still walking. That's something." He grinned mockingly.**

**"Did I mention I hate you?"**

I sighed sadly at that.

**He flashed me another smile, which quickly faded to something more serious. "Don't take this the wrong way…I mean, you really are a scrapper, but there's no way you'll be able to take your trials in the spring—"**

**"They're making me take extra practice sessions," I explained. Not that it mattered. I planned on getting Lissa and me out of here before these practices really became an issue.**

"Thank God, you didn't" said Janine. It's then I noticed Abe had fallen asleep.

**"I'll be ready."**

**"Extra sessions with who?"**

**"That tall guy. Dimitri."**

**Mason stopped walking and stared at me. "You're putting in extra time with Belikov?"**

**"Yeah, so what?"**

**"So the man is a god."**

" So that's where you got it from? " asked Dimitri. I nodded smiling.

**"Exaggerate much?" I asked.**

**"No, I'm serious. I mean, he's all quiet and antisocial usually, but when he fights…wow. If you think you're hurting now, you're going to be dead when he's done with you."**

"in more ways than one. "muttered Adrian." what did you say " I asked him. " nothing ", I nodded, "that's what I thought."

**Great. Something else to improve my day.**

**I elbowed him and went on to second period. That class covered the essentials of being a bodyguard and was required for all seniors. Actually, it was the third in a series that had started junior year. That meant I was behind in this class too, but I hoped protecting Lissa in the real world had given me some insight.**

**Our instructor was Stan Alto, whom we referred to simply as "Stan" behind his back and "Guardian Alto" in formal settings. He was a little older than Dimitri, but not nearly as tall, and he always looked pissed off. Today, that look intensified when he walked into the classroom and saw me sitting there. His eyes widened in mock surprise as he circled the room and came to stand beside my desk.**

**"What's this? No one told me we had a guest speaker here today. Rose Hathaway. What a privilege! How very generous of you to take time out of your busy schedule and share your knowledge with us."**

Everyone chuckled. I rolled my eyes, yeah yeah have fun at my expense.

**I felt my cheeks burning, but in a great show of self-control, I stopped myself from telling him to fuck off. I'm pretty sure my face must have delivered that message,**

"Oh believe me it did just fine. " Eddie replied.

**however, because his sneer increased. He gestured for me to stand up.**

**"Well, come on, come on. Don't sit there! Come up to the front so you can help me lecture the class."**

**I sank into my seat. "You don't really mean—"**

**The taunting smile dried up. "I mean exactly what I say, Hathaway. Go to the front of the class."**

**A thick silence enveloped the room. Stan was a scary instructor, and most of the class was too awed to laugh at my disgrace quite yet. Refusing to crack, I strode up to the front of the room and turned to face the class. I gave them a bold look and tossed my hair over my shoulders, earning a few sympathetic smiles from my friends. I then noticed I had a larger audience than expected. A few guardians—including Dimitri—lingered in the back of the room. Outside the Academy, guardians focused on one-on-one protection. Here, guardians had a lot more people to protect and they had to train the novices. So rather than follow any one person around, they worked shifts guarding the school as a whole and monitoring classes.**

**"So, Hathaway," said Stan cheerfully,**

"as cheerful as he can be. " I said, Eddie nodded.

**strolling back up to the front with me. "Enlighten us about your protective techniques."**

**"My…techniques?"**

**"Of course. Because presumably you must have had some sort of plan the rest of us couldn't understand when you took an underage Moroi royal out of the Academy and exposed her to constant Strigoi threats."**

**It was the Kirova lecture all over again, except with more witnesses.**

**"We never ran into any Strigoi," I replied stiffly.**

**"Obviously," he said with a snicker. "I already figured that out, seeing as how you're still alive."**

**I wanted to shout that maybe I could have defeated a Strigoi, but after getting beat up in the last class, I now suspected I couldn't have survived an attack by Mason, let alone an actual Strigoi.**

**When I didn't say anything, Stan started pacing in front of the class.**

**"So what'd you do? How'd you make sure she stayed safe? Did you avoid going out at night?"**

**"Sometimes." That was true—especially when we'd first run away. We'd relaxed a little after months went by with no attacks.**

**"Sometimes," he repeated in a high-pitched voice,**

"so high pitched that it would put a fan girl confronting her idol to shame. " said Eddie. Others grimaced at this.

**making my answer sound incredibly stupid. "Well then, I suppose you slept during the day and stayed on guard at night."**

**"Er…no."**

**"No? But that's one of the first things mentioned in the chapter on solo guarding. Oh wait, you wouldn't know that because you weren't here."**

" That was rude. " said Lissa.

**I swallowed back more swear words. "I watched the area whenever we went out," I said, needing to defend myself.**

**"Oh? Well that's something. Did you use Carnegie's Quadrant Surveillance Method or the Rotational Survey?"**

"Again harsh and rude. " Lissa made a face.

**I didn't say anything.**

**"Ah. I'm guessing you used the Hathaway Glance-Around-When-You-Remember-To Method."**

" I don't do that. " exclaimed mom. Which woke up Abe." mum he was talking about me. By default I am also a Hathaway " I said.

** "No!" I exclaimed angrily. "That's not true. I watched her. She's still alive, isn't she?"**

**He walked back up to me and leaned toward my face. "Because you got lucky."**

**"Strigoi aren't lurking around every corner out there," I shot back. "It's not like what we've been taught. It's safer than you guys make it sound."**

**"Safer? Safer? We are at war with the Strigoi!" he yelled. I could smell coffee on his breath, he was so close.**

"Yucky" exclaimed both Sydney and Jill.

**"One of them could walk right up to you and snap your pretty little neck before you even noticed him—and he'd barely break a sweat doing it. You might have more speed and strength than a Moroi or a human, but you are nothing, nothing, compared to a Strigoi. They are deadly, and they are powerful. And do you know what makes them more powerful?"**

**No way was I going to let this jerk make me cry.**

Abe narrowed his eyes at that. Damn talk about overprotective.

**Looking away from him, I tried to focus on something else. My eyes rested on Dimitri and the other guardians. They were watching my humiliation, stone-faced.**

**"Moroi blood," I whispered.**

**"What was that?" asked Stan loudly. "I didn't catch it."**

**I spun back around to face him. "Moroi blood! Moroi blood makes them stronger."**

**He nodded in satisfaction and took a few steps back. "Yes. It does. It makes them stronger and harder to destroy. They'll kill and drink from a human or dhampir, but they want Moroi blood more than anything else. They seek it. They've turned to the dark side to gain immortality, and they want to do whatever they can to keep that immortality. Desperate Strigoi have attacked Moroi in public. Groups of Strigoi have raided academies exactly like this one. There are Strigoi who have lived for thousands of years and fed off generations of Moroi. They're almost impossible to kill. And that is why Moroi numbers are dropping. They aren't strong enough—even with guardians—to protect themselves. Some Moroi don't even see the point of running anymore and are simply turning Strigoi by choice. And as the Moroi disappear…"**

**"…so do the dhampirs," I finished.**

**"Well," he said, licking sprayed spit off his lips.**

"Again gross. " said Sydney and Jill looked like she was ill.

**"It looks like you learned something after all. Now we'll have to see if you can learn enough to pass this class and qualify for your field experience next semester."**

" I didn't just pass, I passed with flying colors. " I told the book Stan. Dimitri chuckled.

**Ouch. I spent the rest of that horrible class—in my seat, thankfully—replaying those last words in my mind. The senior-year field experience was the best part of a novice's education. We'd have no classes for half a semester. Instead, we'd each be assigned a Moroi student to guard and follow around. The adult guardians would monitor us and test us with staged attacks and other threats.**

"That's cool. " said Sydney. All the Guardian nodded.

**How a novice passed that field experience was almost as important as all the rest of her grades combined. It could influence which Moroi she got assigned to after graduation.**

**And me? There was only one Moroi I wanted.**

Lissa and I shared smile.

**Two classes later, I finally earned my lunch escape. As I stumbled across campus toward the commons, Dimitri fell into step beside me, not looking particularly godlike—unless you counted his godly good looks.**

Mostly people rolled their eyes at that.

**"I suppose you saw what happened in Stan's class?" I asked, not bothering with titles.**

"When do you ever? " asked Eddie." Probably never. " I said almost proudly. Everyone except adults chuckled, not counting Abe in adults.

**"Yes."**

**"And you don't think that was unfair?"**

**"Was he right? Do you think you were fully prepared to protect Vasilisa?"**

**I looked down at the ground. "I kept her alive," I mumbled.**

**"How did you do fighting against your classmates today?"**

**The question was mean. I didn't answer and knew I didn't need to. I'd had another training class after Stan's, and no doubt Dimitri had watched me get beat up there too.**

**"If you can't fight them—"**

**"Yeah, yeah, I know," I snapped.**

"Rose you don't snap at you instructors. " said Janine Exasperated.

**He slowed his long stride to match my pain-filled one. "You're strong and fast by nature. You just need to keep yourself trained. Didn't you play any sports while you were gone?"**

**"Sure," I shrugged. "Now and then."**

**"You didn't join any teams?"**

**"Too much work. If I'd wanted to practice that much, I'd have stayed here."**

" Typical rose answer. " said Lissa fondly. Mostly people chuckled and mom just rolled her eyes at me.

**He gave me an exasperated look. "You'll never be able to really protect the princess if you don't hone your skills. You'll always be lacking."**

**"I'll be able to protect her," I said fiercely.**

**"You have no guarantees of being assigned to her, you know—for your field experience or after you graduate." Dimitri's voice was low and unapologetic. They hadn't given me a warm and fuzzy mentor. "No one wants to waste the bond—but no one's going to give her an inadequate guardian either. If you want to be with her, then you need to work for it. You have your lessons. You have me. Use us or don't.**

" Oh I think she gonna use you just fine. " said Adrian, I resisted the urge to smack the hell out of him.

**You're an ideal choice to guard Vasilisa when you both graduate—if you can prove you're worthy. I hope you will."**

**"Lissa, call her Lissa," I corrected. She hated her full name, much preferring the Americanized nickname.**

"did you even hear what he said? " asked Mia." yeah I did. "

**He walked away, and suddenly, I didn't feel like such a badass anymore.**

**By now, I'd burned up a lot of time leaving class. Most everyone else had long since sprinted inside the commons for lunch, eager to maximize their social time. I'd almost made it back there myself when a voice under the door's overhang called to me.**

**"Rose?"**

**Peering in the voice's direction, I caught sight of Victor Dashkov, his kind face smiling at me as he leaned on a cane near the building's wall. His two guardians stood nearby at a polite distance.**

**"Mr. Dash-er, Your Highness. Hi."**

**I caught myself just in time, having nearly forgotten Moroi royal terms. I hadn't used them while living among humans. The Moroi chose their rulers from among twelve royal families. The eldest in the family got the title of "prince" or "princess." Lissa had gotten hers because she was the only one left in her line.**

**"How was your first day?" he asked.**

"Till now horrible. " Said Eddie.

**"Not over yet." I tried to think of something conversational. "Are you visiting here for a while?"**

**"I'll be leaving this afternoon after I say hello to Natalie. When I heard Vasilisa—and you—had returned, I simply had to come see you."**

**I nodded, not sure what else to say. He was more Lissa's friend than mine.**

" He was barely a friend. " said Lissa hiding her face in Christian's chest. He spoke soothingly and I had a fleeting moment of being sucked in Lissa's head.

**"I wanted to tell you…" He spoke hesitantly. "I understand the gravity of what you did, but I think Headmistress Kirova failed to acknowledge something. You did keep Vasilisa safe all this time. That is impressive."**

**"Well, it's not like I faced down Strigoi or anything," I said.**

**"But you faced down some things?"**

**"Sure. The school sent psi-hounds once."**

**"Remarkable."**

**"Not really. Avoiding them was pretty easy."**

**He laughed. "I've hunted with them before.**

" how could I miss that was my first clue. " I said regretting.

**They aren't that easy to evade, not with their powers and intelligence." It was true. Psi-hounds were one of many types of magical creatures that wandered the world, creatures that humans never knew about or else didn't believe they'd really seen. The hounds traveled in packs and shared a sort of psychic communication that made them particularly deadly to their prey—as did the fact that they resembled mutant wolves.**

"they sound scary " said Sydney." They are " Lissa agreed.

**"Did you face anything else?"**

**I shrugged. "Little things here and there."**

**"Remarkable," he repeated.**

**"Lucky, I think. It turns out I'm really behind in all this guardian stuff." I sounded just like Stan now.**

**"You're a smart girl. You'll catch up. And you also have your bond."**

**I looked away. My ability to "feel" Lissa had been such a secret for so long, it felt weird to have others know about it.**

**"The histories are full of stories of guardians who could feel when their charges were in danger," Victor continued.**

**"I've made a hobby of studying up on it and some of the ancient ways. I've heard it's a tremendous asset."**

"Boring." said Mia

**"I guess." I shrugged. What a boring hobby, I thought, imagining him poring over prehistoric histories in some dank library covered in spiderwebs.**

**Everyone laughed. "you sure have a wild imagination Lil dhampir." observed Adrian.**

**Victor tilted his head, curiosity all over his face. Kirova and the others had had the same look when we'd mentioned our connection, like we were lab rats. "What is it like—if you don't mind me asking?"**

" Well actually I do. " I muttered

**"It's…I don't know. I just sort of always have this hum of how she feels. Usually it's just emotions. We can't send messages or anything." I didn't tell him about slipping into her head. That part of it was hard even for me to understand.**

**"But it doesn't work the other way? She doesn't sense you?"**

**I shook my head.**

**His face shone with wonder. "How did it happen?"**

**"I don't know," I said, still glancing away. "Just started two years ago."**

**He frowned. "Near the time of the accident?"**

**Hesitantly, I nodded. The accident was not something I wanted to talk about, that was for sure. Lissa's memories were bad enough without my own mixing into them. Twisted metal. A sensation of hot, then cold, then hot again. Lissa screaming over me, screaming for me to wake up, screaming for her parents and her brother to wake up. None of them had, only me.**

**And the doctors said that was a miracle in itself. They said I shouldn't have survived.**

Mum and dad looked uncomfortable at this.

**Apparently sensing my discomfort, Victor let the moment go and returned to his earlier excitement.**

**"I can still barely believe this. It's been so long since this has happened. If it did happen more often…just think what it could do for the safety of all Moroi. If only others could experience this too. I'll have to do more research and see if we can replicate it with others."**

**"Yeah." I was getting impatient, despite how much I liked him. Natalie rambled a lot, and it was pretty clear which parent she'd inherited that quality from. Lunch was ticking down, and although Moroi and novices shared afternoon classes, Lissa and I wouldn't have much time to talk.**

**"Perhaps we could—" He started coughing, a great, seizing fit that made his whole body shake. His disease, Sandovsky's Syndrome, took the lungs down with it while dragging the body toward death. I cast an anxious look at his guardians, and one of them stepped forward. "Your Highness," he said politely, "you need to go inside. It's too cold out here."**

**Victor nodded. "Yes, yes. And I'm sure Rose here wants to eat." He turned to me. "Thank you for speaking to me. I can't emphasize how much it means to me that Vasilisa is safe—and that you helped with that. I'd promised her father I'd look after her if anything happened to him, and I felt like quite the failure when you left."**

**A sinking sensation filled my stomach as I imagined him wracked with guilt and worry over our disappearance. Until now, I hadn't really thought about how others might have felt about us leaving.**

**We made our goodbyes, and I finally arrived inside the school. As I did, I felt Lissa's anxiety spike. Ignoring the pain in my legs, I picked up my pace into the commons.**

**And nearly ran right into her.**

**She didn't see me, though. Neither did the people standing with her: Aaron and that little doll girl.**

"will you please stop calling me that.? " asked Mia.

**I stopped and listened, just catching the end of the conversation. The girl leaned toward Lissa, who seemed more stunned than anything else.**

**"It looks to me like it came from a garage sale. I thought a precious Dragomir would have standards." Scorn dripped off the word Dragomir.**

"Sorry Lissa, and you too rose. " said Mia. We both smiled back at her.

**Grabbing Doll Girl by the shoulder, I jerked her away. She was so light, she stumbled three feet and nearly fell.**

**"She does have standards," I said, "which is why you're done talking to her."**

" that's the end of chapter. But the cat fight just started. Damn teaser. " said Adrian in a serious tone very odd for him. Christian chuckled at that.

Everyone started getting ready to sleep. Us guardians first arranged beds, We layed down mattresses for everyone. Then got changed. Lissa snuggled with Christian, Sydney with Adrian, Jill hesitantly with Eddie who looked like he was enjoying. Mia alone on a single mattress, even Abe and Janine snuggled together, whereas me, I snuggled with Dimitri, with him spooning me. I loved being in his arms. I turned around and kissed him on his lips which he reciprocated. "we don't need a porn show tonight guys so you might as well stop sucking each other's faces and sleep." exclaimed Christian. I chuckled and laid my head on his chest, and the blackness engulfed me. Totally oblivious to the surprise waiting for us the next day.

_**A/N : hey guys... I know I said I'll update on alternate says but guess what, I was in the mood so I said why not let's give you awesome guys a new chapter. Thanks for the follows, but I need reviews guys to know what you're thinking about it. So please review.**_

_**Lots of love,**_

_**-Anvi**_


	5. Chapter 4 Christian's pov

**AUTHOR'S NOTE : I'm sorry guys I know I know I didn't update but this had been a crazy week soo far. I had a three hour exam on Sunday, then when I came back from the exam I found out that one of my pet turtles died, they were just new born baby, so yeah I was sad. I'm still not in a good mood, so forgive me if the chapter is not upto your expectations.**

**Christian's pov**

I've always been the one to rise early, in the morning. So when today I woke up before everyone else I wasn't surprised.

I looked down at the beautiful angel sleeping in my arms. Sometimes when I'm alone I think about us when our relationship just started, I always thought that I was no better than a charity case for her but as time went on I realized that for once I was wrong, she truly did love me. I accepted that for once I actually mattered in someone's life, it was sometimes hard acknowledging and embracing the feeling of utter happiness, but I finally got a hang of it. I looked around and my eyes rested on rose. She was Sleeping with a serene expression on her face, I know I never tell her how much she means to me but she does, I've always been grateful for her for so many things in my life, she kept lissa sane, saved my life, not once, twice, she even took the bullet for lissa. I loved her like a sister, I just never told her, and no matter what our society thinks of her's and belikov's, I don't care I love their relationship. True love is hard to find and I'm glad my Lil rosie posie found him. Although I won't say that to her face because come on I don't have a death wish now do I.

I was pulled out from my musings by Adrian waking up. I decided since I've woken up I can prepare breakfast for everyone.

After everyone had breakfast we all gathered around. Dimitri started reading

**WE DIDN'T HAVE THE ENTIRE commons' attention this time, thank God, but a few passing people had stopped to stare.**

**"What the hell do you think you're doing?" asked Doll Girl,**

"don't call me that. "exclaimed Mia. I've to say she was a nut case back in Academy.

**blue eyes wide and sparkling with fury. Up close now, I was able to get a better look at her. She had the same slim build as most Moroi but not the usual height, which was partly what made her look so young. The tiny purple dress she wore was gorgeous**

"thank you " said Mia

**—reminding me that I was indeed dressed in thrift-shop wear—but closer inspection led me to think it was a designer knockoff.**

" I'll take that back. " grumbled Mia.

**I crossed my arms across my chest. "Are you lost, little girl? The elementary school's over on west campus."**

Everyone chuckled at this, making Mia pink from embarrassment. But before Dimitri could start reading again the door opened, And in came a woman and two girls. Suddenly dimitri sprang from the couch he was sitting on and went straight to the woman's arm murmuring "mama, oh mama." and rest was russian and out of my league.

Rose also got up surprised and hugged all three of them. After the reunion Rose introduced all of us. It was then I noticed the resemblance on the faces of dimitri and others. The older woman was Olena belikova, the older girl was karolina belikova and the younger one was Victoria belikova.

"I don't understand why are we here dimka" said Olena. Then rose explained everything to her and others and they finally day down, and dimitri picked up where he left.

**A pink flush spread over her cheeks. "Don't you ever touch me again. You screw with me, and I'll screw you right back."**

**Oh man, what an opening that was. Only a head shake from Lissa stopped me from unleashing any number of hilarious comebacks.**

" which was?"asked Adrian. Rose shrugged "I really don't remember."

**Instead, I opted for simple brute force, so to speak.**

**"And if you mess with either of us again, I'll break you in half. If you don't believe me, go ask Dawn Yarrow about what I did to her arm in ninth grade. You were probably at nap time when it happened."**

Chuckles floated around in the room.

**The incident with Dawn hadn't been one of my finer moments. I honestly hadn't expected to break any bones when I shoved her into a tree. Still, the incident had given me a dangerous reputation, in addition to my smartass one. The story had gained legendary status, and I liked to imagine that it was still being told around campfires late at night.**

"nice one rose. "Eddie said high fiving rose.

**Judging from the look on this girl's face, it was.**

**One of the patrolling staff members strolled by right then, casting suspicious eyes at our little meeting. Doll Girl backed off, taking Aaron's arm. "Come on," she said.**

**"Hey, Aaron," I said cheerfully, remembering he was there. "Nice to see you again."**

**He gave me a quick nod and an uneasy smile, just as the girl dragged him off. Same old Aaron. He might be nice and cute, but aggressive he was not.**

" I don't care about aggressive, but man was he dumb or what. "I said shaking my head. Remembering our little conversation where I might or might not have threatened to burn him if he or his little girlfriend didn't stay away from lissa.

**I turned to Lissa. "You okay?" She nodded. "Any idea who I just threatened to beat up?"**

" only you rose would threaten to beat someone you didn't know " said Eddie.

**"Not a clue." I started to lead her toward the lunch line, but she shook her head at me. "Gotta go see the feeders."**

**A funny feeling settled over me. I'd gotten so used to being her primary blood source that the thought of returning to the Moroi's normal routine seemed strange. In fact, it almost bothered me. It shouldn't have. Daily feedings were part of a Moroi's life, something I hadn't been able to offer her while living on our own. It had been an inconvenient situation, one that left me weak on feeding days and her weak on the days in between. I should have been happy she would get some normality.**

**I forced a smile. "Sure."**

" aww rosie you didn't need to force a smile on your face, your face is already enough ugly. " I said teasingly to rose. Of course I didn't mean it." at least people love my face sparky, yours look like smacked arse. " said rose in an equally teasing tone.

**We walked into the feeding room, which sat adjacent to the cafeteria. It was set up with small cubicles, dividing the room's space in an effort to offer privacy. A dark-haired Moroi woman greeted us at the entrance and glanced down at her clipboard, flipping through the pages. Finding what she needed, she made a few notes and then gestured for Lissa to follow. Me she gave a puzzled look, but she didn't stop me from entering.**

**She led us to one of the cubicles where a plump, middle-aged woman sat leafing through a magazine. She looked up at our approach and smiled. In her eyes, I could see the dreamy, glazed-over look most feeders had. She'd probably neared her quota for the day, judging from how high she appeared to be.**

**Recognizing Lissa, her smile grew. "Welcome back, Princess."**

" even the feeders recognised you? " asked Adrian. To which rose cockily replied," we were that awesome, no need for applause guys seriously is okay. " making everyone laugh again.

**The greeter left us, and Lissa sat down in the chair beside the woman. I sensed a feeling of discomfort in her, a little different from my own. This was weird for her too; it had been a long time. The feeder, however, had no such reservations. An eager look crossed her face—the look of a junkie about to get her next fix.**

**Disgust poured into me. It was an old instinct, one that had been drilled in over the years. Feeders were essential to Moroi life. They were humans who willingly volunteered to be a regular blood source, humans from the fringes of society who gave their lives over to the secret world of the Moroi. They were well cared for and given all the comforts they could need. But at the heart of it, they were drug users, addicts to Moroi saliva and the rush it offered with each bite. The Moroi—and guardians—looked down on this dependency, even though the Moroi couldn't have survived otherwise unless they took victims by force. Hypocrisy at its finest.**

*cough*look who's talking *cough* Adrian said, earning a Hathaway glare.

**The feeder tilted her head, giving Lissa full access to her neck. Her skin there was marked with scars from years of daily bites. The infrequent feedings Lissa and I had done had kept my neck clear; my bite marks never lasted more than a day or so.**

**Lissa leaned forward, fangs biting into the feeder's yielding flesh. The woman closed her eyes, making a soft sound of pleasure. I swallowed, watching Lissa drink. I couldn't see any blood, but I could imagine it.**

"speaking of which I'm hungry. " said Abe. All the Moroi nodded, rose went in search for blood, and found some blood bags and handed it to us moroi. When everyone finished dimitri started again.

**A surge of emotion grew in my chest: longing. Jealousy. I averted my eyes, staring at the floor. Mentally, I scolded myself.**

"you should have. "said janine matter of factly.

**What's wrong with you? Why should you miss it? You only did it once every day. You aren't addicted, not like this. And you don't want to be.**

**But I couldn't help myself, couldn't help the way I felt as I recalled the bliss and rush of a vampire's bite.**

Rose shuddered at this. Dimitri wispered something in her ear, she visibly relaxed. So he continued reading.

**Lissa finished and we returned to the commons, moving toward the lunch line. It was short, since we only had fifteen minutes left, and I strolled up and began to load my plate with french fries and some rounded, bite-size objects that looked vaguely like chicken nuggets.**

"rose do you even care what you eat? " asked Eddie chuckling. To which rose replied" yes I do, I only eat it if looks eatable and digestible. " every one cracked up laughing at this even rose.

**Lissa only grabbed a yogurt. Moroi needed food, as dhampirs and humans did, but rarely had an appetite after drinking blood.**

**"So how'd classes go?" I asked.**

**She shrugged. Her face was bright with color and life now. "Okay. Lots of stares. A lot of stares. Lots of questions about where we were. Whispering."**

**"Same here," I said. The attendant checked us out,**

"not a word Adrian, not a fucking word " warned rise as soon as she saw him opening his mouth for no shocker a smart ass coment.

**and we walked toward the tables. I gave Lissa a sidelong glance. "You okay with that? They aren't bothering you, are they?"**

**"No—it's fine." The emotions coming through the bond contradicted her words. Knowing I could feel that, she tried to change the subject by handing me her class schedule. I looked it over.**

**"Nerd," I said. "If you were in Stupid Math like me, we'd have the same afternoon schedule." I stopped walking. "Why are you in elemental basics? That's a sophomore class."**

**She eyed me. "Because seniors take specialized classes."**

**We fell silent at that. All Moroi wielded elemental magic. It was one of the things that differentiated living vampires from Strigoi, the dead vampires. Moroi viewed magic as a gift. It was part of their souls and connected them to the world.**

**A long time ago,**

"oh man an explanation, rose didn't you have anything better than describe everything. " I groaned.

**they had used their magic openly—averting natural disasters and helping with things like food and water production. They didn't need to do that as much anymore, but the magic was still in their blood. It burned in them and made them want to reach out to the earth and wield their power. Academies like this existed to help Moroi control the magic and learn how to do increasingly complex things with it. Students also had to learn the rules that surrounded magic, rules that had been in place for centuries and were strictly enforced.**

**All Moroi had a small ability in each element. When they got to be around our age, students "specialized" when one element grew stronger than the others: earth, water, fire, or air. Not specializing was like not going through puberty.**

**And Lissa…well, Lissa hadn't specialized yet.**

"We just didn't knew at that time. " murdered rose.

**"Is Ms. Carmack still teaching that? What she'd say?"**

**"She says she's not worried. She thinks it'll come."**

**"Did you—did you tell her about—"**

" about what?" asked Sydney. "you'll get to know in time." Rose rolled her eyes.

**Lissa shook her head. "No. Of course not."**

**We let the subject drop. It was one we thought about a lot but rarely spoke of.**

**We started moving again, scanning the tables as we decided where to sit. A few pairs of eyes looked up at us with blatant curiosity.**

**"Lissa!" came a nearby voice. Glancing over, we saw Natalie waving at us. Lissa and I exchanged looks. Natalie was sort of Lissa's cousin in the way Victor was sort of her uncle, but we'd never hung out with her all that much.**

**Lissa shrugged and headed in that direction. "Why not?"**

**I followed reluctantly. Natalie was nice but also one of the most uninteresting people I knew. Most royals at the school enjoyed a kind of celebrity status, but Natalie had never fit in with that crowd. She was too plain, too uninterested in the politics of the Academy, and too clueless to really navigate them anyway.**

"she really sounds boring. " said Victoria. All of us who knew her nodded.

**Natalie's friends eyed us with a quiet curiosity, but she didn't hold back. She threw her arms around us. Like Lissa, she had jade-green eyes, but her hair was jet black, like Victor's had been before his disease grayed it.**

**"You're back! I knew you would be! Everyone said you were gone forever, but I never believed that. I knew you couldn't stay away. Why'd you go? There are so many stories about why you left!" Lissa and I exchanged glances as Natalie prattled on. "Camille said one of you got pregnant and went off to have an abortion, but I knew that couldn't be true. Someone else said you went off to hang out with Rose's mom,**

" God would she never shut up ? " asked Adrian

**but I figured Ms. Kirova and Daddy**

" did she really called him daddy? " asked Mia shocked. Rose and lissa nodded.

**wouldn't have been so upset if you'd turned up there. Did you know we might get to be roommates? I was talking to…"**

**On and on she chatted, flashing her fangs as she spoke. I smiled politely, letting Lissa deal with the onslaught**

"yeah, thanks rose. " said lissa sarcastically, to which rose replied in a sickly sweet tone," your welcome lissa. "

**until Natalie asked a dangerous question.**

**"What'd you do for blood, Lissa?"**

**The table regarded us questioningly. Lissa froze, but I immediately jumped in, the lie coming effortlessly to my lips.**

**"Oh, it's easy. There are a lot of humans who want to do it."**

**"Really?" asked one of Natalie's friends, wide-eyed.**

**"Yup. You find 'em at parties and stuff. They're all looking for a fix from something, and they don't really get that a vampire's doing it: most are already so wasted they don't remember anyway." My already vague details dried up, so I simply shrugged in as cool and confident a way as I could manage. It wasn't like any of them knew any better. "Like I said, it's easy. Almost easier than with our own feeders."**

**Natalie accepted this and than launched into some other topic. Lissa shot me a grateful look.**

**Ignoring the conversation again,**

" thanks again. " lissa rolled her eyes." no problem. " rose shrugged. A few of us chuckled.

**I took in the old faces, trying to figure out who was hanging out with whom and how power had shifted within the school. Mason, sitting with a group of novices, caught my eye, and I smiled. Near him, a group of Moroi royals sat, laughing over something. Aaron and the blond girl sat there too.**

**"Hey, Natalie," I said, turning around and cutting her off. She didn't seem to notice or mind. "Who's Aaron's new girlfriend?"**

**"Huh? Oh. Mia Rinaldi." Seeing my blank look, she asked, "Don't you remember her?"**

**"Should I? Was she here when we left?"**

"yes and hell yes. "replied Mia.

**"She's always been here," said Natalie. "She's only a year younger than us."**

**I shot a questioning look at Lissa, who only shrugged.**

**"Why is she so pissed off at us?" I asked. "Neither of us know her."**

**"I don't know," answered Natalie. "Maybe she's jealous about Aaron. She wasn't much of anybody when you guys left. She got really popular really fast. She isn't royal or anything, but once she started dating Aaron, she—"**

**"Okay, thanks," I interrupted. "It doesn't really—"**

**My eyes lifted up from Natalie's face to Jesse Zeklos's, just as he passed by our table. Ah, Jesse. I'd forgotten about him. I liked flirting with Mason and some of the other novices, but Jesse was in an entirely different category. You flirted with the other guys simply for the sake of flirting. You flirted with Jesse in the hopes of getting semi-naked with him. He was a royal Moroi, and he was so hot, he should have worn a warning: flammable sign.**

Boys gagged, and girls looked sick at that even rose. I said, "nice description there rose." I said sarcastically.

**He met my eyes and grinned.**

**"Hey Rose, welcome back. You still breaking hearts?"**

**"Are you volunteering?"**

**His grin widened. "Let's hang out sometime and find out. If you ever get parole."**

" Exactly my point. " said Jill.

** He kept walking, and I watched him admiringly. Natalie and her friends stared at me in awe. I might not be a god in the Dimitri sense,**

" you aren't a God but a Goddess for sure. " replied dimitri to which rose blushed. You heard that right folks, THE ROSE HATHAWAY BLUSHED.

**but with this group, Lissa and I were gods—or at least former gods—of another nature.**

**"Oh my gawd," exclaimed one girl. I didn't remember her name. "That was Jesse."**

**"Yes," I said, smiling. "It certainly was."**

**"I wish I looked like you," she added with a sigh.**

**Their eyes fell on me. Technically, I was half-Moroi, but my looks were human. I'd blended in well with humans during our time away, so much so that I'd barely thought about my appearance at all. Here, among the slim and small-chested Moroi girls, certain features—meaning my larger breasts and more defined hips—stood out.**

"I know Lil dhampir I know. " said Adrian working at rose. She flipped him off and tried to cool down her one and only ripped Russian boyfriend. I'm pretty sure the only reason Adrian is alive is, that he is a royal as well as in a relationship.

**I knew I was pretty, but to Moroi boys, my body was more than just pretty: it was sexy in a risqué way. Dhampirs were an exotic conquest, a novelty all Moroi guys wanted to "try."**

**Before Adrian could say anything lissa kicked him on his calf.**

**It was ironic that dhampirs had such an allure here, because slender Moroi girls looked very much like the super-skinny runway models so popular in the human world. Most humans could never reach that "ideal" skinniness, just as Moroi girls could never look like me. Everyone wanted what she couldn't have.**

**Lissa and I got to sit together in our shared afternoon classes but didn't do much talking. The stares she'd mentioned certainly did follow us, but I found that the more I talked to people, the more they warmed up. Slowly, gradually, they seemed to remember who we were, and the novelty—though not the intrigue—of our crazy stunt wore off.**

**Or maybe I should say, they remembered who I was. Because I was the only one talking. Lissa stared straight ahead, listening but neither acknowledging nor participating in my attempts at conversation. I could feel anxiety and sadness pouring out of her.**

**"All right," I told her when classes finally ended. We stood outside the school, and I was fully aware that in doing so, I was already breaking the terms of my agreement with Kirova.**

"Somehow I'm not surprised" said Eddie.

**"We're not staying here," I told her, looking around the campus uneasily. "I'm going to find a way to get us out."**

**"You think we could really do it a second time?" Lissa asked quietly.**

**"Absolutely." I spoke with certainty, again relieved she couldn't read my feelings. Escaping the first time had been tricky enough. Doing it again would be a real bitch, not that I couldn't still find a way.**

**"You really would, wouldn't you?" She smiled, more to herself than to me, like she'd thought of something funny. "Of course you would. It's just, well…" She sighed. "I don't know if we should go. Maybe—maybe we should stay."**

**I blinked in astonishment. "What?" Not one of my more eloquent answers, but the best I could manage.**

"rose Hathaway incapable of normal speech, did the hell freeze over. " asked Mia sarcastically.

**I'd never expected this from her.**

**"I saw you, Rose. I saw you talking to the other novices during class, talking about practice. You miss that."**

**"It's not worth it," I argued. "Not if…not if you…" I couldn't finish, but she was right. She'd read me. I had missed the other novices. Even some of the Moroi. But there was more to it than just that. The weight of my inexperience, how much I'd fallen behind, had been growing all day.**

**"It might be better," she countered. "I haven't had as many…you know, things happening in a while. I haven't felt like anyone was following or watching us."**

**I didn't say anything to that. Before we'd left the Academy, she'd always felt like someone was following her, like she was being hunted. I'd never seen evidence to support that, but I had once heard one of our teachers go on and on about the same sort of thing. Ms. Karp. She'd been a pretty Moroi, with deep auburn air and high cheekbones. And I was pretty sure she'd been crazy.**

**"You never know who's watching," she used to say, walking briskly around the classroom as she shut all the blinds. "Or who's following you. Best to be safe. Best to always be safe." We'd snickered amongst ourselves because that's what students do around eccentric and paranoid teachers.**

"hey she wasn't eccentric and paranoid I actually liked her class. I just used to think that she was a little unstable. "I argued. Mia replied," sure Christian whatever helps you sleep at night. "

**The thought of Lissa acting like her bothered me.**

**"What's wrong?" Lissa asked, noticing that I was lost in thought.**

**"Huh? Nothing. Just thinking." I sighed, trying to balance my own wants with what was best for her. "Liss, we can stay, I guess…but there are a few conditions."**

**This made her laugh. "A Rose ultimatum, huh?"**

**"I'm serious."**

Everyone cracked up at this. Rose pretended to be hurt.

**Words I didn't say very much. "I want you to stay away from the royals. Not like Natalie or anything but you know, the others. The power players. Camille. Carly. That group."**

**Her amusement turned to astonishment. "Are you serious?"**

" She just said that didn't she. " said Eddie.

**"Sure. You never liked them anyway."**

**"You did."**

**"No. Not really. I liked what they could offer. All the parties and stuff."**

**"And you can go without that now?" She looked skeptical.**

**"Sure. We did in Portland."**

**"Yeah, but that was different." Her eyes stared off, not really focused on any one thing. "Here…here I've got to be a part of that. I can't avoid it."**

**"The hell you do. Natalie stays out of that stuff."**

**"Natalie isn't going to inherit her family's title," she retorted. "I've already got it. I've got to be involved, start making connections. Andre—"**

**"Liss," I groaned. "You aren't Andre." I couldn't believe she was still comparing herself to her brother.**

"You never should have lissa, you should do what makes you happy, not what you think you are supposed to do. " said Janine. Ever since rose started mending her relationship with her mom, her parents have started treating Lissa like her own daughter. Which makes lissa ecstatic.

**"He was always involved in all that stuff."**

**"Yeah, well," I snapped back, "he's dead now."**

**Her face hardened. "You know, sometimes you aren't very nice."**

**"You don't keep me around to be nice. You want nice, there are a dozen sheep in there who would rip each other's throats to get in good with the Dragomir princess. You keep me around to tell you the truth, and here it is: Andre's dead. You're the heir now, and you're going to deal with it however you can. But for now, that means staying away from the other royals. We'll just lie low. Coast through the middle. Get involved in that stuff again, Liss, and you'll drive yourself…"**

**"Crazy?" she supplied when I didn't finish.**

"not a good way to end the sentence rose " said Sydney.

**Now I looked away. "I didn't mean…"**

**"It's okay." she said, after a moment. She sighed and touched my arm. "Fine. We'll stay and we'll keep out of all that stuff. We'll 'coast through the middle' like you want. Hang out with Natalie, I guess."**

**To be perfectly honest, I didn't want any of that.**

" I knew it. " Lissa cheered.

I** wanted to go to all the royal parties and wild drunken festivities like we'd done before. We'd kept out of that life for years until Lissa's parents and brother died. Andre should have been the one to inherit her family's title, and he'd certainly acted like it. Handsome and outgoing, he'd charmed everyone he knew and had been a leader in all the royal cliques and clubs that existed on campus. After his death, Lissa had felt it was her family duty to take his place.**

**I'd gotten to join that world with her. It was easy for me, because I didn't really have to deal with the politics of it. I was a pretty dhampir, one who didn't mind getting into trouble and pulling crazy stunts. I became a novelty; they liked having me around for the fun of it.**

**Lissa had to deal with other matters. The Dragomirs were one of the twelve ruling families**.

"another explanation.? Really rose, don't we all know this ? "I said exasperated.

**She'd have a very powerful place in Moroi society, and the other young royals wanted to get in good with her. Fake friends tried to schmooze her and get her to team up against other people. The royals could bribe and backstab in the same breath—and that was just with each other. To dhampirs and non-royals, they were completely unpredictable.**

**That cruel culture had eventually taken its toll on Lissa. She had an open, kind nature, one that I loved, and I hated to see her upset and stressed by royal games. She'd grown fragile since the accident, and all the parties in the world weren't worth seeing her hurt.**

**"All right then," I said finally. "We'll see how this goes. If anything goes wrong—anything at all—we leave. No arguments."**

**She nodded.**

**"Rose?"**

**We both looked up at Dimitri's looming form. I hoped he hadn't heard the part about us leaving**.

" as a matter of fact I did. " said dimitri." then why didn't you say anything? " questioned janine. Dimitri shrugged.

**"You're late for practice," he said evenly. Seeing Lissa, he gave a polite nod. "Princess."**

**As he and I walked away, I worried about Lissa and wondered if staying here was the right thing to do. I felt nothing alarming through the bond, but her emotions spiked all over the place. Confusion. Nostalgia. Fear. Anticipation. Strong and powerful, they flooded into me.**

**I felt the pull just before it happened. It was exactly like what had happened on the plane: her emotions grew so strong that they "sucked" me into her head before I could stop them. I could now see and feel what she did.**

**She walked slowly around the commons, toward the small Russian Orthodox chapel that served most of the school's religious needs. Lissa had always attended mass regularly. Not me.**

**I had a standing arrangement with God:**

"and what was that? " asked Jill. " wait it's already here " answered dimitri.

**I'd agree to believe in him—barely—so long as he let me sleep in on Sundays.**

" She is definatly my daughter " said a proud and smug Abe.

**But as she went inside, I could feel that she wasn't there to pray. She had another purpose, one I didn't know about. Glancing around, she verified that neither the priest nor any worshippers were close by. The place was empty.**

**Slipping through a doorway in the back of the chapel, she climbed a narrow set of creaky stairs up into the attic. Here it was dark and dusty. The only light came through a large stained-glass window that fractured the faint glow of sunrise into tiny, multicolored gems across the floor.**

"it must have looked soo pretty. "sighed Sydney dreamily. Me and Lissa nodded at her.

**I hadn't known until that moment that this room was a regular retreat for Lissa. But now I could feel it, feel her memories of how she used to escape here to be alone and to think. The anxiety in her ebbed away ever so slightly as she took in the familiar surroundings. She climbed up into the window seat and leaned her head back against its side, momentarily entranced by the silence and the light.**

**Moroi could stand some sunlight, unlike the Strigoi, but they had to limit their exposure. Sitting here, she could almost pretend she was in the sun, protected by the glass's dilution of the rays.**

**Breathe, just breathe, she told herself. It'll be okay. Rose will take care of everything.**

**She believed that passionately, like always, and relaxed further.**

**Then a low voice spoke from the darkness.**

**"You can have the Academy but not the window seat."**

Gasped Sydney and Jill . Girls!. Even rose rolled her eyes.

**She sprang up, heart pounding. I shared her anxiety, and my own pulse quickened. "Who's there?"**

**A moment later, a shape rose from behind a stack of crates, just outside her field of vision. The figure stepped forward, and in the poor lighting, familiar features materialized. Messy black hair. Pale blue eyes. A perpetually sardonic smirk.**

**Christian Ozera.**

**"Don't worry," he said. "I won't bite. Well, at least not in the way you're afraid of." He chuckled at his own joke.**

"oh my. I'm dying of laughter here Christian." Said Adrian in a very flat tone. Making me roll my eyes at him.

**She didn't find it funny. She had completely forgotten about Christian. So had I.**

"Don't I feel soo loved." I said in a sickly sweet tone. To which lissa replied by kissing my lips, and whispering, "you are baby."

**No matter what happened in our world, a few basic truths about vampires remained the same. Moroi were alive; Strigoi were undead. Moroi were mortal; Strigoi were immortal. Moroi were born; Strigoi were made.**

**And there were two ways to make a Strigoi.**

"Rose if you only wrote this much in your exams you'd have topped. " I said sarcastically. Making everyone laugh. And rose said," technically I didn't write it. "

**Strigoi could forcibly turn humans, dhampirs, or Moroi with a single bite. Moroi tempted by the promise of immortality could become Strigoi by choice if they purposely killed another person while feeding. Doing that was considered dark and twisted, the greatest of all sins, both against the Moroi way of life and nature itself. Moroi who chose this dark path lost their ability to connect with elemental magic and other powers of the world. That was why they could no longer go into the sun.**

**This is what had happened to Christian's parents. They were Strigoi.**

I squeezed Lissa's hand and she wrapped her arms around me in a comforting manner no matter how much I try to get the memories our they never leave me but lissa is my talisman again these memories.

"so that's the end of chapter who'll read next? " asked dimitri. And Lissa volunteered.

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: so guys I have few things for you**_

_**1. Do you want me to mend the bond between rose and lissa.? Why or why not.**_

_**2. Please guys if you review please review in English or hindi (optional, if you know ).**_

_**for your reviews guys it means a lot to me.**_

_**4. Please give me plenty of reviews folks. I really really need to know what do you think of this story. I feel like no one likes my story**_

_**5. To lezly66 please review in English. I would really appreciate it.**_

_**6. I won't update next chapter unless I get satisfactory responses to my question.**_

_**Follow me on instagram : ana_chirpy_bird or just type my name Anirvina you'll get it.**_

_**That's all for now peeps, enjoy, be happy and stay safe and healthy.**_

_**-Anvi**_


	6. Chapter 5 rose's pov

**ROSE'S POV**

I saw Liss as she took up the book, others might not see it but I can see how much it bothered her reading about Victor again. I can imagine all those vivid images flowing in her mind.

Our bond may have severed but I still can read her like an open book. I don't need the bond to know what is going on in my best friend's mind.

Shaking, Liss started reading.

**OR RATHER, THEY HAD BEEN Strigoi. A regiment of guardians had hunted them down and killed them. If rumors were true, Christian had witnessed it all when he was very young.**

"this time the rumors were true. "murmured sparky. I love this guy like a brother I just don't like to show it. I don't want people to know that all these people in the room were my weakness.

**And although he wasn't Strigoi himself,**

At this sparky rolled his eyes.

**some people thought he wasn't far off, with the way he always wore black and kept to himself.**

"That doesn't mean that I am " said Christian, even if lissa was my best friend since kindergarten, my one year relationship with sparky was just as strong. I could see pain, anger, hurt, radiating from him in huge waves.

**Strigoi or not, I didn't trust him. He was a jerk, and I silently screamed at Lissa to get out of there—not that my screaming did much good. Stupid one-way bond.**

Everyone chuckled at this

**"What are you doing here?" she asked.**

**"Taking in the sights, of course. That chair with the tarp on it is particularly lovely this time of year.**

Chuckles

**Over there, we have an old box full of the writings of the blessed and crazy St. Vladimir.**

More Chuckles

**And let's not forget that beautiful table with no legs in the corner."**

At this everyone lost it and started laughing.

**"Whatever." She rolled her eyes and moved toward the door, wanting to leave, but he blocked her way.**

**"Well, what about you?" he taunted. "Why are you up here? Don't you have parties to go to or lives to destroy?"**

" did you really think that, that's all I did? " asked lissa." no I was just being a douche Bag back then " Christian replied very seriously. Which would've been hilarious if not for the situation.

**Some of Lissa's old spark returned. "Wow, that's hilarious. Am I like a rite of passage now? Go and see if you can piss off Lissa to prove how cool you are?**

" Well the bets didn't used to be on you but on rose." replied Mia. I asked puzzled, " me? I don't understand how can someone be cool by pissing me off?"

"yeah because everyone knows that everything can annoy you. Only you rose would get annoyed at slippers and grass. "laughed Eddie. I shot him a death glare. Mia replied," the bets weren't on who could piss you off, the bet used to be on who can talk to you for about 2 mins without pissing you off. "grinned Mia. Everyone started laughing. I pouted at this, Dimitri seeing my expression took my face in his hand and kissed me on lips. I smiled at him. While sparky and Adrian were making gagging noises in the background. Immature freaks.

**Some girl I don't even know yelled at me today, and now I've got to deal with you? What does it take to be left alone?"**

"A kiss?" asked sparky. Lissa smiled and kissed him. It was now my turn to gag. Sparky looked annoyingly at me, I just poked my tongue out at him.

**"Oh. So that's why you're up here. For a pity party."**

**"This isn't a joke. I'm serious." I could tell Lissa was getting angry. It was trumping her earlier distress.**

**He shrugged and leaned casually against the sloping wall. "So am I. I love pity parties.**

" everyone knows that Christian," said Jill mockingly. Cue Chuckles.

**I wish I'd brought the hats. What do you want to mope about first? How it's going to take you a whole day to be popular and loved again? How you'll have to wait a couple weeks before Hollister can ship out some new clothes? If you spring for rush shipping, it might not be so long."**

"main question here is how does sparky knows these things? Liss are you sure he isn't secretly a drag queen in bedroom? It won't be a surprise though "I said shrugging. Sending everyone into howls of laughter.

**"Let me leave," she said angrily, this time pushing him aside.**

**"Wait," he said, as she reached the door. The sarcasm disappeared from his voice. "What…um, what was it like?"**

" I think you know dude " said Adrian wriggling his eyebrows at him. Leave it to Adrian to turn everything into sexual innuendo.

"**What was what like?" she snapped.**

**"Being out there. Away from the Academy."**

**She hesitated for a moment before answering, caught off guard by what seemed like a genuine attempt at conversation. "It was great. No one knew who I was. I was just another face. Not Moroi. Not royal. Not anything." She looked down at the floor. "Everyone here thinks they know who I am."**

" because you are queen duh! Everyone knows their queen Lissa " said Victoria. We chuckled and Liss rolled her eyes.

**"Yeah. It's kind of hard to outlive your past," he said bitterly.**

**It occurred to Lissa at that moment—and me to by default—just how hard it might be to be Christian. Most of the time, people treated him like he didn't exist. Like he was a ghost. They didn't talk to or about him. They just didn't notice him. The stigma of his parents' crime was too strong, casting its shadow onto the entire Ozera family.**

"which is horrible "said my mom looking sympathetically at Christian. He shrugged," I was used to it. "

**Still, he'd pissed her off, and she wasn't about to feel sorry for him.**

**"Wait—is this your pity party now?"**

**He laughed, almost approvingly. "This room has been my pity party for a year now."**

**"Sorry," said Lissa snarkily. "I was coming here before I left. I've got a longer claim."**

**"Squatters' rights.**

Everyone chuckled

**Besides, I have to make sure I stay near the chapel as much as possible so people know I haven't gone Strigoi…yet." Again, the bitter tone rang out.**

"yet? "asked Sydney, question clear in her voice. Christian smiled wickedly at her. She shrink back in apparent fear.

**"I used to always see you at mass. Is that the only reason you go? To look good?" Strigoi couldn't enter holy ground. More of that sinning-against-the-world thing.**

**"Sure," he said. "Why else go? For the good of your soul?"**

" yes? " said Sydney.

"**Whatever," said Lissa, who clearly had a different opinion. "I'll leave you alone then."**

**"Wait," he said again. He didn't seem to want her to go. "I'll make you a deal. You can hang out here too if you tell me one thing."**

" what, was it like a test? You get privileges only if you pass it. " mocked Abe." are you trying to make a joke old man "I said plainly. He chuckled.

**"What?" She glanced back at him.**

**He leaned forward. "Of all the rumors I heard about you today—and believe me, I heard plenty, even if no one actually told them to me—there was one that didn't come up very much. They dissected everything else: why you left, what you did out there, why you came back, the specialization, what Rose said to Mia, blah, blah, blah. And in all of that, no one, no one ever questioned that stupid story that Rose told about there being all sorts of fringe humans who let you take blood."**

"busted!"exclaimed Eddie.

**She looked away, and I could feel her cheeks starting to burn. "It's not stupid. Or a story."**

**He laughed softly. "I've lived with humans. My aunt and I stayed away after my parents…died. It's not that easy to find blood." When she didn't answer, he laughed again. "It was Rose, wasn't it? She fed you."**

" I will say it again. Busted! " laughed Eddie. " you actually are more intelligent than I give you credit for Pyro. "I said walking at him. He rolled his eyes," unlike you rose I actually have a brain, that I use "Chuckles floated around. I narrowed my eyes at him. He grinned back in return.

**A renewed fear shot through both her and me. No one at school could know about that. Kirova and the guardians on the scene knew, but they'd kept that knowledge to themselves.**

**"Well. If that's not friendship, I don't know what it is," he said.**

"it's sisterhood sparky, "I said.

**"You can't tell anyone," she blurted out.**

"that gave you away cousin. "said Adrian.

**This was all we needed. As I'd just been reminded, feeders were vampire-bite addicts. We accepted that as part of life but still looked down on them for it.**

" another explanation? " Christian sighed.

**For anyone else—especially a dhampir—letting a Moroi take blood from you was almost, well, dirty. In fact, one of the kinkiest, practically pornographic things a dhampir could do was let a Moroi drink blood during sex.**

**Lissa and I hadn't had sex,**

That raised some eyebrows.

**of course, but we'd both known what others would think of me feeding her.**

**"Don't tell anyone," Lissa repeated.**

**He stuffed his hands in his coat pockets and sat down on one of the crates. "Who am I going to tell?**

" walls , plants maybe. "I said. He had decency to look irritated at that.

**Look, go grab the window seat. You can have it today and hang out for a while. If you're not still afraid of me."**

**She hesitated, studying him. He looked dark and surly, lips curled in a sort of I'm-such-a-rebel smirk. But he didn't look too dangerous. He didn't look Strigoi.**

"of course I didn't rose, because I WASN'T "exclaimed sparky. I said," hold your horses Pyro.

**Gingerly, she sat back down in the window seat, unconsciously rubbing her arms against the cold.**

**Christian watched her, and a moment later, the air warmed up considerably.**

**Lissa met Christian's eyes and smiled, surprised she'd never noticed how icy blue they were before. "You specialized in fire?"**

" no duh! "said Christian sarcastically.

**He nodded and pulled up a broken chair. "Now we have luxury accommodations."**

" if that was luxury accommodations then what was your first time like in a garbage can " mocked Adrian, to which he recieved a smack on his head by Sydney.

**I snapped out of the vision.**

**"Rose? Rose?"**

**Blinking, I focused on Dimitri's face. He was leaning toward me, his hands gripping my shoulders. I'd stopped walking; we stood in the middle of the quad separating the upper school buildings.**

**"Are you all right?"**

**"I…yeah. I was…I was with Lissa…" I put a hand to my forehead.**

"you don't know how worried I was. "whispered dimitri. I shivered at the close proximity.

**I'd never had such a long or clear experience like that. "I was in her head."**

**"Her…head?"**

**"Yeah. It's part of the bond." I didn't really feel like elaborating.**

"thank Lord for his mercy. "exclaimed sparky. I threw a cushion at him at that comment.

**"Is she all right?"**

**"Yeah, she's…" I hesitated. Was she all right? Christian Ozera had just invited her to hang out with him. Not good.**

"oh rosie such trust in me. I'm honoured " said Christian in a very high pitched voice sufficed with a roll of eye.

**There was "coasting through the middle," and then there was turning to the dark side.**

This earned Chuckles and an eye roll by a pissed fire user.

**But the feelings humming through our bond were no longer scared or upset. She was almost content, though still a little nervous. "She's not in danger," I finally said. I hoped.**

**"Can you keep going?"**

**The hard, stoic warrior I'd met earlier was gone—just for a moment—and he actually looked concerned.**

"I was." said dimitri. My mum smiled at him. Well that's a first. I guess hearing him say he actually cared about me made the difference.

**Truly concerned. Feeling his eyes on me like that made something flutter inside of me—which was stupid, of course.**

"So that's when you started falling for him. "asked lissa. I shrugged I can't pin point the actual moment.

**I had no reason to get all goofy, just because the man was too good-looking for his own good.**

Everyone laughed, I looked at Olena and said," and I have Olena to thank for that. " she chuckled," thank you Roza. "

**After all, he was an antisocial god, according to Mason. One who was supposedly going to leave me in all sorts of pain.**

" yeah all sorts of pain Lil dhampir. "said Adrian earning eye roll from everyone present, come on who wants to listen to a person who makes even simplest of the sentences sound dirty.

**"Yeah. I'm fine."**

**I went into the gym's dressing room and changed into the workout clothes someone had finally thought to give me after a day of practicing in jeans and a T-shirt.**

There was a collective chorus of eww from Sydney, Mia, Jill, karo and Victoria

**Gross. Lissa hanging out with Christian troubled me, but I shoved that thought away for later as my muscles informed me they did not want to go through any more exercise today.**

"this is the sign I was looking for to prove that you are crazy. " said Christian making me so very pissed.

**So I suggested to Dimitri that maybe he should let me off this time.**

**He laughed, and I was pretty sure it was at me and not with me.**

**"Why is that funny?"**

**"Oh," he said, his smile dropping. "You were serious."**

A chorus of laughter rang throughout the room.

**"Of course I was! Look, I've technically been awake for two days. Why do we have to start this training now? Let me go to bed," I whined. "It's just one hour."**

**He crossed his arms and looked down at me. His earlier concern was gone. He was all business now. Tough love. "How do you feel right now? After the training you've done so far?"**

**"I hurt like hell."**

**"You'll feel worse tomorrow."**

**"So?"**

**"So, better to jump in now while you still feel…not as bad."**

" what kind of logic is that? "asked lissa. I tried to look solemnly at lissa," see comrade, even lissa agrees. " dimitri chuckled and kissed my head.

**"What kind of logic is that?" I retorted.**

**But I didn't argue anymore as he led me into the weight room. He showed me the weights and reps he wanted me to do, then sprawled in a corner with a battered Western novel. Some god.**

That made everyone l laugh again.

**When I finished, he stood beside me and demonstrated a few cool-down stretches.**

**"How'd you end up as Lissa's guardian?" I asked. "You weren't here a few years ago. Were you even trained at this school?"**

**He didn't answer right away. I got the feeling he didn't talk about himself very often.**

" no I didn't roza. " said dimitri. I shivered at my nickname. The way he said my name always sends a shiver down my spine.

**"No. I attended the one in Siberia."**

**"Whoa. That's got to be the only place worse than Montana."**

" I hate to contradict my own words but it is really pretty there. "I said." really? " asked Jill. I nodded karolina spoke up," it is really pretty there, I'm sure you'll fall in love with it. " Jill sighed dreamily.

**A glint of something—maybe amusement—sparked in his eyes, but he didn't acknowledge the joke. "After I graduated, I was a guardian for a Zeklos lord. He was killed recently." His smile dropped, his face grew dark. "They sent me here because they needed extras on campus. When the princess turned up, they assigned me to her, since I'd already be around. Not that it matters until she leaves campus."**

**I thought about what he'd said before. Some Strigoi killed the guy he was supposed to have been guarding? "Did this lord die on your watch?"**

**"No. He was with his other guardian. I was away."**

"which brings a question to my mind. How did he die? " I asked. Everyone looked intrigued with this. Dimitri sighed and started speaking," Ivan was my best friend in reality. So my birthday was around, he did everything possible to send me on a holiday before it so that he could surprise me with party and gifts. When I went for the holiday he took Alex, his second Guardian to nearby city for shopping, on the way back they were ambushed. Even Ivan fought with his magic but the Strigoi were too much the two of them " dimitri shuddered. I hugged him tight. No one spoke a word after that.

**He fell silent, his mind obviously somewhere else. The Moroi expected a lot from us, but they did recognize that the guardians were—more or less—only human. So, guardians got pay and time off like you'd get in any other job. Some hard-core guardians—like my mom—refused vacations, vowing never to leave their Moroi's sides.**

Mum looked sad at this, so when she raised her head I silently told her that, it was okay I understand. She visibly relaxed and smiled at me.

**Looking at Dimitri now, I had a feeling he might very well turn into one of those.**

"true, dimka never visited us again. He just wrote letters. We missed him soo much but he distanced himself from everyone. He is lucky that you are in his life roza. And we will forever be grateful for you too give our dimka back to us, in more ways than one " said karo. I fought back tears. And dimitri crushed me into his chest."the feeling is mutual dorogya sestra" dimitri murmured.

**If he'd been away on legitimate leave, he could hardly blame himself for what happened to that guy.**

"way to be considerate rose " said Adrian. I poked my tongue out at him. Thankful for the normalcy of the comment.

**Still, he probably did anyway. I'd blame myself too if something happened to Lissa.**

Lissa silently told me that she won't ever let that happen. No matter how much older Lissa gets, she still has that naive streak in her.

**"Hey," I said, suddenly wanting to cheer him up, "did you help come up with the plan to get us back? Because it was pretty good. Brute force and all that."**

" you are complimenting him on that? " asked mum raising an eyebrow, damn am I the only one who can't do that.

**He arched an eyebrow curiously. Cool. I'd always wished I could do that. "You're complimenting me on that?"**

" it's scary how you both think alike. " I said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

**"Well, it was a hell of a lot better than the last one they tried."**

**"Last one?"**

**"Yeah. In Chicago. With the pack of psi-hounds."**

**"This was the first time we found you. In Portland."**

**I sat up from my stretches and crossed my legs. "Um, I don't think I imagined psi-hounds. Who else could have sent them? They only answer to Moroi.**

" I don't know how I kept missing these clues. " I said to no one in particular.

**Maybe no one told you about it."**

**"Maybe," he said dismissively. I could tell by his face he didn't believe that.**

**I returned to the novices' dorm after that. The Moroi students lived on the other side of the quad, closer to the commons. The living arrangements were partly based on convenience. Being here kept us novices closer to the gym and training grounds. But we also lived separately to accommodate the differences in Moroi and dhampir lifestyles.**

*cough*racism*cough* said Sydney. We laughed.

**Their dorm had almost no windows, aside from tinted ones that dimmed sunlight. They also had a special section where feeders always stayed on hand. The novices' dorm was built in a more open way, allowing for more light.**

**I had my own room because there were so few novices, let alone girls. The room they'd given me was small and plain, with a twin bed and a desk with a computer.**

"what else did you wanted a walk in closet? " asked Mia." hey I wasn't complaining " I answered.

**My few belongings had been spirited out of Portland and now sat in boxes around the room. I rummaged through them, pulling out a T-shirt to sleep in. I found a couple of pictures as I did, one of Lissa and me at a football game in Portland and another taken when I'd gone on vacation with her family, a year before the accident.**

**I set them on my desk and booted up the computer. Someone from tech support had helpfully given me a sheet with instructions for renewing my e-mail account and setting up a password. I did both, happy to discover no one had realized that this would serve as a way for me to communicate with Lissa.**

"careless people " muttered mom.

**Too tired to write to her now, I was about to turn everything off when I noticed I already had a message. From Janine Hathaway. It was short:**

**I'm glad you're back. What you did was inexcusable.**

Abe sent a disapproving glance towards her which she was oblivious to, mainly because she was too wrapped up in her own guilt.

"**Love you too, Mom," I muttered, shutting it all down.**

**When I went to bed afterward, I passed out before even hitting the pillow,**

"is that even possible? " asked vika to which Eddie replied," everything is possible for rose, physics, chemistry doesn't even begin to apply for her. " laughing I punched him lightly on the arm. Which was possible bc he was sitting right next to me.

**and just as Dimitri had predicted, I felt ten times worse when I woke up the next morning. Lying there in bed, I reconsidered the perks of running away. Then I remembered getting my ass kicked and figured the only way to prevent that from happening again was to go endure some more of it this morning.**

**My soreness made it all that much worse, but I survived the before-school practice with Dimitri and my subsequent classes without passing out or fainting.**

Everyone laughed at my pathetic condition.

**At lunch, I dragged Lissa away from Natalie's table early and gave her a Kirova-worthy lecture about Christian—particularly chastising her for letting him know about our blood arrangement. If that got out, it'd kill both of us socially and I didn't trust him not to tell.**

"I don't know why I'm not surprised at this? " said sparky sarcastically.

**Lissa had other concerns.**

**"You were in my head again?" she exclaimed. "For that long?"**

" creepy isn't it cousin? " asked Adrian clearly talking about his bond with Jill. Lissa nodded.

**"I didn't do it on purpose," I argued. "It just happened. And that's not the point. How long did you hang out with him afterward?"**

**"Not that long. It was kind of…fun."**

**"Well, you can't do it again. If people find out you're hanging out with him, they'll crucify you."**

"exaggerate much " asked Sydney. I rolled my eyes, and Mia spoke," no literally Sydney you don't know high school like us it's a very viscous circle you live in, words can do lot more than you can even imagine in your wildest dreams. "

**I eyed her warily. "You aren't, like, into him, are you?"**

**She scoffed. "No. Of course not.**

Christian raised his eyebrows at this. Lissa giggled. Eventually sparky also smiled, letting her cuddle to his side.

**"Good. Because if you're going to go after a guy, steal Aaron back." He was boring, yes, but safe. Just like Natalie. How come all the harmless people were so lame?**

"That's why they are harmless rose." said Abe.

**Maybe that was the definition of safe.**

**She laughed. "Mia would claw my eyes out."**

" no wouldn't. I wasn't even into him you know. " said Mia. Liss and I shrugged.

**"We can take her. Besides, he deserves someone who doesn't shop at Gap Kids."**

Mia scowled at me, I reciprocated that gesture though.

**"Rose, you've got to stop saying things like that."**

**"I'm just saying what you won't."**

**"She's only a year younger," said Lissa. She laughed. "I can't believe you think I'm the one who's going to get us in trouble.**"

" no one can Liss "Eddie said laughing with others.

**Smiling as we strolled toward class, I gave her a sidelong glance. "Aaron does look pretty good though, huh?"**

**She smiled back and avoided my eyes. "Yeah. Pretty good."**

**"Ooh. You see? You should go after him."**

**"Whatever. I'm fine being friends now."**

**"Friends who used to stick their tongues down each other's throats."**

Christian looked very uncomfortable at that. Lissa whispered something into his ears, making his mood take a complete 360. I can only imagine what she said. I so not need these mental images in my head.

**She rolled her eyes.**

**"Fine." I let my teasing go. "Let Aaron stay in the nursery school. Just so long as you stay away from Christian. He's dangerous."**

Again Christian raised his eyebrow in question. I shrugged.

**"You're overreacting. He's not going Strigoi."**

**"He's a bad influence."**

**She laughed. "You think I'm in danger of going Strigoi?"**

**She didn't wait for my answer, instead pushing ahead to open the door to our science class. Standing there, I uneasily replayed her words and then followed a moment later. When I did, I got to see royal power in action. A few guys—with giggling, watching girls—were messing with a gangly-looking Moroi. I didn't know him very well, but I knew he was poor and certainly not royal. A couple of his tormentors were air-magic users, and they'd blown the papers off his desk and were pushing them around the room on currents of air while the guy tried to catch them.**

"bullies! "exclaimed Sydney. I always used to feel bad at for these people, they don't deserve it. These thoughts made me upset. Dimitri somehow sensing my mood, rubbed my arm soothingly. I smiled up at him. He smiled back at me.

**My instincts urged me to do something, maybe go smack one of the air users. But I couldn't pick a fight with everyone who annoyed me, and certainly not a group of royals—especially when Lissa needed to stay off their radar. So I could only give them a look of disgust as I walked to my desk.**

"which, did nothing to them. " I said.

**As I did, a hand caught my arm. Jesse.**

Dimitri tensed up at his name. Now it was my turn to sooth him.

**"Hey," I said jokingly. Fortunately, he didn't appear to be participating in the torture session. "Hands off the merchandise."**

**He flashed me a smile but kept his hand on me. "Rose, tell Paul about the time you started the fight in Ms. Karp's class."**

**I cocked my head toward him, giving him a playful smile. "I started a lot of fights in her class."**

Mom rolled her eyes at this.

**"The one with the hermit crab. And the gerbil."**

**I laughed, recalling it. "Oh yeah. It was a hamster, I think. I just dropped it into the crab's tank, and they were both worked up from being so close to me, so they went at it."**

" animal cruelty. " muttered Sydney under her breath. Dhampir hearing surely is a blessing.

**Paul, a guy sitting nearby whom I didn't really know, chuckled too. He'd transferred last year, apparently, and hadn't heard of this. "Who won?"**

**I looked at Jesse quizzically. "I don't remember. Do you?"**

**"No. I just remember Karp freaking out." He turned toward Paul. "Man, you should have seen this messed-up teacher we used to have. Used to think people were after her and would go off on stuff that didn't make any sense. She was nuts. Used to wander campus while everyone was asleep."**

**I smiled tightly, like I thought it was funny.**

I always sypathised with her, even though at that time I didn't knew the reason behind her craziness. I've learned very early in my my life to never judge a book by its cover.

**Instead, I thought back to Ms. Karp again, surprised to be thinking about her for the second time in two days. Jesse was right—she had wandered campus a lot when she still worked here. It was pretty creepy. I'd run into her once—unexpectedly.**

**I'd been climbing out of my dorm window to go hang out with some people. It was after hours, and we were all supposed to be in our rooms, fast asleep.**

"keyword here is, supposed " I said making quotation marks making everyone chuckle.

**Such escape tactics were a regular practice for me. I was good at them.**

**But I fell that time. I had a second-floor room, and I lost my grip about halfway down. Sensing the ground rush up toward me, I tried desperately to grab hold of something and slow my fall. The building's rough stone tore into my skin, causing cuts I was too preoccupied to feel. I slammed into the grassy earth, back first, getting the wind knocked out of me.**

"ouchie." said Eddie, clearly having experienced it at first hand.

**"Bad form, Rosemarie. You should be more careful. Your instructors would be disappointed."**

**Peering through the tangle of my hair, I saw Ms. Karp looking down at me, a bemused look on her face. Pain, in the meantime, shot through every part of my body.**

**Ignoring it as best I could, I clambered to my feet. Being in class with Crazy Karp**

"you should not say like this about your teachers rosemarie. " said Janine

**while surrounded by other students was one thing. Standing outside alone with her was an entirely different matter. She always had an eerie, distracted gleam in her eye that made my skin break out in goose bumps.**

**There was also now a high likelihood she'd drag me off to Kirova for a detention. Scarier still.**

**Instead, she just smiled and reached for my hands. I flinched but let her take them. She tsked when she saw the scrapes. Tightening her grip on them, she frowned slightly. A tingle burned my skin, laced with a sort of pleasant buzz, and then the wounds closed up. I had a brief sense of dizziness. My temperature spiked. The blood disappeared, as did the pain in my hip and leg.**

**Gasping, I jerked my hands away. I'd seen a lot of Moroi magic, but never anything like that.**

**"What…what did you do?"**

**She gave me that weird smile again. "Go back to your dorm, Rose. There are bad things out here. You never know what's following you."**

**Everyone was listening intently to what goi**ng to happen.

I was still staring at my hands. "But…"

**I looked back up at her and for the first time noticed scars on the sides of her forehead. Like nails had dug into them. She winked. "I won't tell on you if you don't tell on me."**

" what kind of teacher says that? " asked mom. Lissa shrugged," couldn't have expected anything else from her though. "

**I jumped back to the present, unsettled by the memory of that bizarre night. Jesse, in the meantime, was telling me about a party.**

**"You've got to slip your leash tonight. We're going up to that spot in the woods around eight thirty. Mark got some weed."**

Mom muttered something which sounded like 'darn teenagers'

**I sighed wistfully, regret replacing the chill I'd felt over the memory of Ms. Karp. "Can't slip that leash. I'm with my Russian jailer."**

" Did you always called me names behind my back?" asked dimitri. I replied, "this is my way of affection comrade, what are you complaining about and don't tell me that you wouldn't want to be my personal jailer, with handcuffs and all. " I whispered the last part and gave him a smoldering look. He shivered. Looks like dimitri's little (which was not at all little ) comrade was waking up.

**He let go of my arm, looking disappointed, and ran a hand through his bronze-colored hair. Yeah. Not being able to hang out with him was a damned shame. I really would have to fix that someday. "Can't you ever get off for good behavior?" he joked.**

**I gave him what I hoped was a seductive smile as I found my seat. "Sure," I called over my shoulder. "If I was ever good" .**

"that's the end of chapter. " said Lissa." I think we should have lunch guys before another chapter. " said mia. To which everyone agreed. Meanwhile I pulled dimitri to into the bathroom.

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE :haha I know, I know tease. But I Couldn't write the lemon because I wasn't sure if you wanted it. I will post it in the next chapter though if you guys want so, review and tell me guys if you want it.**_

_**I would like to thank **_**Ginevra Annabeth Herondale**_** for her reviews. And after considering the reviews on the last chapter I've decided that the bond won't be reconnecting anytime soon. Because the reasons you guys gave me were, frankly speaking, logical. I loved reading your answers and reviews.**_

_**You guys made my day. And follow me on instagram ana_chirpy_bird**_

_**So review guys, and tell me if you want lemon in the next chapter or not.**_

_**That's all for now. Stay safe, stay healthy. You guys rock**_

_**-love anvi**_


	7. Chapter 6 Rose's pov

**Rose's pov**

As soon as we stepped inside the bathroom dimitri attacked me, kissing me. His kisses filled with passion, lust, hunger, and dominance.

As soon as his lips touched mine all coherent thoughts left my mind. My body lighting up, the tingling sensation, the fire spread throughout my body like wildfire spreads in a forest. Our clothes, which were a mere obstacle between us, were shed off within 30 seconds. It's gotta be a new record for us.

Dimitri picked me up and deposited me on the bathroom slab. His mouth wandering to my neck, between my chest gliding over my stomach, a low growl of approval left his mouth, sending my nerve endings into a frenzy of need. His mouth whispering, moaning my name in worship, like a prayer, "roza... Roza... My sweet sweet roza." . This comes to a close second on the list of things about him that turns me on. And him speaking Russian while making love to me definatly tops it.

I wrapped my legs around his torso, while dimitri started his journey towards my face, with heels of feet I pushed his boxer briefs down. Then I remembered something and this was definatly the time to test it.

As dimitri started kissing my sweet spot, just at the Junction of my neck and collar bone, I whispered in his ear , "Ya Lyublyu tebya dimitriy.". As soon as the words left my mouth he looked up into my eyes,surprise written all over his face, in a husky breathy whisper he asked, "where did you learn that roza?" I blushed, lowering my head, I didn't answer because I didn't wanted to ruin the moment. He tilted my chin up, I felt my resolve wavering as I gazed into his soft eyes, I said, more likely whispered , "I don't want to ruin the moment with my answer." he smiled and said," you can never ruin a moment moy milyy roza. " although I didn't understand what he said at last, but even then I answered him," don't laugh okay , I've been having lessons with Google translate, as well as Victoria. " I blushed as I answered him and ducked my head.

Dimitri kissed my forehead," look up roza, please angel. " ever since I healed and dimitri started to forgive himself, he started using the term angel whenever we are making love or just cuddling it made our special moment a lot more special.

I always tear up when he uses this term though, because it's just soo sweet. I looked up and found him smiling that special smile of his, reserved only for me, smile which lights up his whole like Christmas.

He said, "you have no idea how special that makes me feel roza, you learning my native language just for me, makes me the happiest man on the planet. I love you too angel, soo much, you are my air for breathing,my reason for existing, I'm like a lot puppy without you roza. I don't care what others say all I know is I cease to exist without you. "before he got a chance to speak again I kissed him, hard, fast, holding on for dear life with that kiss. I didn't want him to see me cry, his mouth took possession of me once again.

I could feel his member rock hard between us, in one swift motion he trusted into me, knocking the air out of me, he stilled letting me adjust, once I nodded he started moving, with each thrust he became faster, with each thrust my moans coming out louder, he started speaking in Russian, which only added on to the frenzy of need inside me, "su sladkiy", "lyubi menya rebenka " . His trusts became harder, faster I was on an all time high hanging by a thread, afraid to let go.

" Give it to me roza. "dimitri panted, his words were my undoing, I spiraled down, I screamed in ecstacy. Just as my first wave of ecstacy emerged, dimitri came undone inside me, panting my name. We both rode out our high together. The moment could not have been more perfect if I do say so . We lay their catching our breath, on each other's arms. I don't know how long we lied there, eventually a knock and karo's voice pulled us out of our stupor. She informed us that the lunch was ready.

Dimitri and I started dressing up occasionally stopping for sweet sweet kisses. Both of us cleaned up our sweaty mess. We stepped out, still oblivious to the world around us.

As we stepped into the kitchen, I was assaulted by the smell of amazing food, Russian food from what could tell. We all sat around the range helping ourselves to the amazing food.

As we were eating vika spoke up, "dimka are you alright?" . Dimitri's brows furrowed ay the question, "yes vika I'm fine. why did you ask? " asked dimitri. Looking on the mischievous simple on her face I pretty much had an inkling to what was coming. "you seem very flushed dimka. Is your temperature high? Was that the reason Ro was with you in the bathroom?" Victoria asked in a very uncharacteristic for her innocent voice.

I could see dimitri getting red in cheeks by this. I stifled my own laugh as dimitri stuttered, "well... That... Um... I had a... A... A rash.. At my shoulder.. Roza was... Helping me with it." . Everyone around the table seemed to be holding their laughs.

But Olena spoke up, "how did the rash came up dimka, do you want me look at it." I can't fucking belive it even Olena was teasing him I can't belive my eyes or my ears for that fact dimitri's mom teasing him, is this the same woman I met in baia , this is epic , "I got that during a sparing session ma." said dimitri trying and failing to sound nonchalant about it. "is that mark on your neck from sparing dimka." asked Olena.

I looked at his neck puzzled, surprisingly there was a mark, but anyone can se it was no ordinary mark but a damned love bite, Hickey. Jesus H Christ It took every ounce of my will power to not laugh at his expressions as asked, "what mark?" lissa took out a mirror from her handbag and handed it to dimitri.

Everyone lost it including me as soon as we saw his horrified expression. We were howling in laughter as dimitri turned red. I can't believe it sweet Olena teasing her own son about his sex life. Dimitri put the mirror down embarrassed.

I pulled his face into my hands as far him a peck om his cheek to calm him down. I gave a disapproving glare to everyone and said, " this is not fair Olena, you guys have no right to mess with my comrade" "oh trust me rose we would have minded our businesses but the way you were moaning, I won't be surprised if the whole court heard it. " said Christian still laughing. I smirked at him and answered, "jealous sparky, that you can make lissa scream like dimitri makes me? Maybe you should take some notes from him, he can give you some pointers to you on how to show a girl hood time ." this shut up his laughing making him frown, in turn generating another round of laughter around us.

The lunch passed by without anymore disruptions.

We all sat around once again, to read the books this time I say in dimitri's lap my back resting to his chest, his arms wrapped around me. I sighed content in his arms. Mia read this time.

**AS MUCH AS LISSA AND Christian's meeting bothered me, it gave me an idea the next day.**

" Glad we could be of some use " mocked sparky.

**"Hey, Kirova—er, Ms. Kirova." I stood in the doorway of her office, not having bothered to make an appointment.**

"no shocker there. " said Eddie as a matter of fact.

**She raised her eyes from some paperwork, clearly annoyed to see me.**

" how can she not be? " said Adrian, smirking.

**"Yes, Miss Hathaway?"**

**"Does my house arrest mean I can't go to church?"**

**"I beg your pardon?"**

Everyone looked shocked at me. I shrugged indifferently." hell even I would've thought I heard wrong " exclaimed Eddie.

**"You said that whenever I'm not in class or practice, I have to stay in the dorm. But what about church on Sundays? I don't think it's really fair to keep me away from my religious…um, needs."**

Cue laughter.

"since when rose have religious needs?" asked sparky. I fired St him and replied, "since you hit puberty. Oh sorry my mistake, you never did" adding more intensity to the laughter. Jill had tears streaming down her face as she laughed. Once everyone calmed down Mia starred reading.

**Or deprive me of another chance—no matter how short and boring—to hang out with Lissa.**

"again no shocker on the ulterior motive there. " said lissa.

**She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I wasn't aware you had any religious needs."**

**"I found Jesus while I was gone."**

Laughter.

**"Isn't your mother an atheist?" she asked skeptically.**

"yes", replied the person in question.

**"And my dad's probably Muslim. But I've moved on to my own path. You shouldn't keep me from it."**

"nah I'm an atheist as well "said Abe.

**She made a noise that sort of sounded like a snicker. "No, Miss Hathaway, I should not. Very well. You may attend services on Sundays."**

" how gullible us she? " asked Abe. All of us St vlads students replies," very"

**The victory was short-lived, however, because church was every bit as lame as I remembered when I attended a few days later.**

Sydney didn't hide the disapproval at this though.

**I did get to sit next to Lissa, though, which made me feel like I was getting away with something. Mostly I just people-watched.**

*cough*stalker*cough* Adrian said.

**Church was optional for students, but with so many Eastern European families, a lot of students were Eastern Orthodox Christians and attended either because they believed or because their parents made them.**

"like me "said Mia.

**Christian sat on the opposite side of the aisle, pretending to be just as holy as he'd said.**

Everyone snickered

**As much as I didn't like him, his fake faith still made me smile.**

I smiled upto sparky and him returning the gesture.

**Dimitri sat in the back, face lined with shadows, and, like me, didn't take communion. As thoughtful as he looked, I wondered if he even listened to the service. I tuned in and out.**

I turned to him, before I could utter a single syllable he said, "unlike you, yes I did paid attention."

**"Following God's path is never easy,"**

Everyone rolled their eyes. "Wasn't church enough " asked Christian.

**the priest was saying. "Even St. Vladimir, this school's own patron saint, had a difficult time. He was so filled with spirit**

" Clue one." I muttered

**that people often flocked around him, enthralled just to listen and be in his presence. So great was his spirit, the old texts say, that he could heal the sick.**

"second clue. " I said. Those who didn't know fave ne puzzled looks.

**Yet despite these gifts, many did not respect him. They mocked him, claiming he was misguided and confused."**

**Which was a nice way of saying Vladimir was insane. Everyone knew it. He was one of a handful of Moroi saints, so the priest liked to talk about him a lot. I'd heard all about him, many times over, before we left. Great. It looked like I had an eternity of Sundays to hear his story over and over again.**

"you have no shame rose. "said Sydney in exasperation." I never said I have. " I shrugged.

**"…and so it was with shadow-kissed Anna."**

" clue 3" I murmured

**I jerked my head up. I had no idea what the priest was talking about now, because I hadn't been listening for some time. But those words burned into me. Shadow-kissed. It had been a while since I heard them, but I'd never forgotten them. I waited, hoping he'd continue, but he'd already moved on to the next part of the service. The sermon was over.**

"too bad rose you should've paid attention earlier. " said Adrian. I smacked him hard. He looked like he was in pain.

**Church concluded, and as Lissa turned to go, I shook my head at her. "Wait for me. I'll be right there."**

**I pushed my way through the crowd, up to the front, where the priest was speaking with a few people. I waited impatiently while he finished. Natalie was there, asking him about volunteer work she could do. Ugh.**

Everyone looked appalled, "seriously, did she have no social life? " asked jill.

**When she finished, she left, greeting me as she passed.**

**The priest raised his eyebrows when he saw me. "Hello, Rose. It's nice to see you again."**

" I would've been surprised too" said Lissa.

**"Yeah…you too," I said. "I heard you talking about Anna. About how she was 'shadow-kissed.' What does that mean?"**

" So that's what this was about? " asked mom. I nodded.

**He frowned. "I'm not entirely sure. She lived a very long time ago. It was often common to refer to people by titles that reflected some of their traits. It might have been given to make her sound fierce."**

**I tried to hide my disappointment. "Oh. So who was she?"**

**This time his frown was disapproving rather than thoughtful. "I mentioned it a number of times."**

**"Oh. I must have, um, missed that."**

Everyone laughed at this, hell even I laughed.

**His disapproval grew, and he turned around. "Wait just a moment."**

**He disappeared through the door near the altar, the one Lissa had taken to the attic. I considered fleeing but thought God might strike me down for that.**

" since when did that stop you.? " Asked Eddie. I answered, "probably never"

**Less than a minute later, the priest returned with a book. He handed it to me. Moroi Saints.**

**"You can learn about her in here. The next time I see you, I'd like to hear what you've learned."**

"Homework from priest? This is epic " Lissa laughed uncontrollably. Everyone else joined in.

**I scowled as I walked away. Great. Homework from the priest.**

**In the chapel's entry way, I found Lissa talking to Aaron. She smiled as she spoke, and the feelings coming off her were happy, though certainly not infatuated.**

Sparky looked smug at this. I thought about raining on his parade, but dimitri put his hand on my mouth, and whispered, "behave roza." I turned around and pouted prettily at him. He smiled and kissed my pout away.

**"You're kidding," she exclaimed.**

**He shook his head. "Nope."**

**Seeing me stroll over, she turned to me. "Rose, you're never going to believe this. You know Abby Badica? And Xander? Their guardian wants to resign. And marry another guardian."**

**Now this was exciting gossip. A scandal, actually. "Seriously? Are they, like, going to run off together?"**

" trust rose to get excited over this " said Adrian almost complimenting.

**She nodded. "They're getting a house. Going to get jobs with humans, I guess."**

**I glanced at Aaron, who had suddenly turned shy with me there. "How are Abby and Xander dealing with that?"**

**"Okay. Embarrassed. They think it's stupid." Then he realized who he was speaking to. "Oh. I didn't mean—"**

**"Whatever." I gave him a tight smile. "It is stupid."**

Dimitri looked at me funnily, a little sadly. I didn't like where his thoughts were taking him so I kissed his lips and said," it was my immature past comrade, don't worry. I love you. ". He hugged me tight.

**Wow. I was stunned. The rebellious part me of loved any story where people "fought the system." Only, in this case, they were fighting my system, the one I'd been trained to believe in my entire life.**

**Dhampirs and Moroi had a strange arrangement.**

"damn explanation. You know this is like it was meant to be read. " said sparky. Everyone nodded.

**Dhampirs had originally been born from Moroi mixing with humans. Unfortunately, dhampirs couldn't reproduce with each other—or with humans. It was a weird genetic thing. Mules were the same way, I'd been told, though that wasn't a comparison I really liked hearing. Dhampirs and full Moroi could have children together, and, through another genetic oddity, their kids came out as standard dhampirs, with half human genes, half vampire genes.**

**With Moroi being the only ones with whom dhampirs could reproduce, we had to stay close to them and intermingle with them.**

Everyone rolled their eyes at my terminology.

**Likewise, it became important to us that the Moroi simply survived. Without them, we were done. And with the way Strigoi loved picking off Moroi, their survival became a legitimate concern for us.**

**That was how the guardian system developed. Dhampirs couldn't work magic, but we made great warriors.**

"great? We make kick ass warriors. "said Eddie. We laughed at this. I was liking the playful mood so far.

**We'd inherited enhanced senses and reflexes from our vampire genes and better strength and endurance from our human genes. We also weren't limited by a need for blood or trouble with sunlight. Sure, we weren't as powerful as the Strigoi, but we trained hard, and guardians did a kick-ass job at keeping Moroi safe.**

"that we do. " mom said.

**Most dhampirs felt it was worth risking their own lives to make sure our kind could still keep having children.**

**Since Moroi usually wanted to have and raise Moroi children, you didn't find a lot of long-term Moroi-dhampir romances. You especially didn't find a lot of Moroi women hooking up with dhampir guys. But plenty of young Moroi men liked fooling around with dhampir women, although those guys usually went on to marry Moroi women. That left a lot of single dhampir mothers, but we were tough and could handle it.**

Sydney looked disgusted at this. I felt really sorry for her sometime, she grew up hating the dark creatures of night, I could understand how difficult living with us was for her.

**However, many dhampir mothers chose not to become guardians in order to raise their children. These women sometimes worked "regular" jobs with Moroi or humans; some of them lived together in communities. These communities had a bad reputation.**

Olena looked solemn at this, I went to her and laid my head in her lap. She looked down at me smiling, stroking my hairs. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw dimitri smiling warmly at us.

**I don't know how much of it was true, but rumors said Moroi men visited all the time for sex, and that some dhampir women let them drink blood while doing it. Blood whores.**

**Regardless, almost all guardians were men, which meant there were a lot more Moroi than guardians. Most dhampir guys accepted that they wouldn't have kids. They knew it was their job to protect Moroi while their sisters and cousins had babies.**

Everyone was quite now. Lost in thoughts. Gone was the playful mood.

**Some dhampir women, like my mother, still felt it was their duty to become guardians—even if it meant not raising their own kids. After I'd been born, she'd handed me over to be raised by Moroi. Moroi and dhampirs start school pretty young, and the Academy had essentially taken over as my parent by the time I was four.**

Mom and dad looked sad at this but I didn't reach to comfort them. They needed to hear the bitter truth, I wanted them. They need to understand, after 18 years of disappearance, they can't just March into my life thinking everything is bright and sunny.

**Between her example and my life at the Academy, I believed wholeheartedly that it was a dhampir's job to protect Moroi. It was part of our heritage, and it was the only way we'd keep going. It was that simple.**

**And that was what made what the Badicas' guardian had done so shocking. He'd abandoned his Moroi and run off with another guardian, which meant she'd abandoned her Moroi. They couldn't even have children together, and now two families were unprotected. What was the point?**

"love doesn't need a reason rose. "said Adrian. For once I agreed with him.

**No one cared if teenage dhampirs dated or if adult dhampirs had flings. But a long-term relationship? Particularly one that involved them running away a complete waste. And a disgrace.**

I looked down ashamed. Olena shook her head at me and kissed my forehead, making me feel such intensity of motherly love, I closed my eyes before I teared up.

**After a little more speculation on the Badicas, Lissa and I left Aaron. As we stepped outside, I heard a funny shifting sound and then something sliding. Too late, I realized what was happening, just as a pile of slush slid off the chapel's roof and onto us. It was early October, and we'd had early snow last night that had started melting almost immediately. As a result, the stuff that fell on us was very wet and very cold.**

"No duh! I thought it would be hot and burning. " Adrian said sarcastically. I poked my tongue out at him.

**Lissa took the brunt of it, but I still yelped as icy water landed on my hair and neck. A few others squealed nearby too, having caught the edge of the mini-avalanche.**

**"You okay?" I asked her. Her coat was drenched, and her platinum hair clung to the sides of her face.**

**"Y-yeah," she said through chattering teeth.**

"translation : no I'm not. " said Eddie.

**I pulled off my coat and handed it to her. It had a slick surface and had repelled most of the water. "Take yours off."**

**"But you'll be—"**

**"Take this."**

Mum, Abe and dimitri looked proudly at me. I was soo happy that moment that if I had wings I would've flied off.

**She did, and as she slipped on my coat, I finally tuned into the laughter that always follows these situations. I avoided the eyes, instead focusing on holding Lissa's wet jacket while she changed.**

**"Wish you hadn't been wearing a coat, Rose," said Ralf Sarcozy an unusually bulky and plump Moroi.**

"which Is a subtle way of calling him fat. "I said.

**I hated him. "That shirt would have looked good wet."**

Dimitri tensed up. But one look at me and he relaxed.

**"That shirt's so ugly it should be burned. Did you get that from a homeless person?"**

**I glanced up as Mia walked over and looped her arm through Aaron's.**

Mia shrugged, while everyone glared at her.

**Her blond curls were arranged perfectly, and she had on an awesome pair of black heels that would have looked much better on me.**

She scowled at me. I scowled right back.

**At least they made her look taller, I'd give her that. Aaron had been a few steps behind us but had miraculously avoided being nailed by the slush. Seeing how smug she looked, I decided there'd been no miracles involved.**

"you used magic again a student on campus. "exclaimed mom. Mia looked down and said," I'm sorry Guardian Hathaway "

**"I suppose you want to offer to burn it, huh?" I asked, refusing to let her know how much that insult bugged me. I knew perfectly well my fashion sense had slipped over the last two years. "Oh, wait—fire isn't your element, is it? You work with water. What a coincidence that a bunch just fell on us."**

" haha. Busted!"exclaimed sparky. Mia glared at him, which had no effect on him.

**Mia looked as if she'd been insulted, but the gleam in her eyes showed that she was enjoying this way too much to be an innocent bystander. "What's that supposed to mean?"**

**"Nothing to me. But Ms. Kirova will probably have something to say when she finds out you used magic against another student."**

**"That wasn't an attack," she scoffed. "And it wasn't me. It was an act of God."**

Everyone snickered at this.

**A few others laughed, much to her delight. In my imagination, I responded with, So is this, and then slammed her into the side of the church. In real life, Lissa simply nudged me and said, "Let's go."**

Again dimitri looked proud seeing that I didn't let her get to me. I warmed under his gaze.

**She and I walked off toward our respective dorms, leaving behind laughter and jokes about our wet states and how Lissa wouldn't know anything about specialization. Inside, I seethed. I had to do something about Mia, I realized. In addition to the general irritation of Mia's bitchiness, I didn't want Lissa to have to deal with any more stress than she had to. We'd been okay this first week, and I wanted to keep it that way.**

**"You know," I said, "I'm thinking more and more that you stealing Aaron back is a good thing. It'll teach Bitch Doll a lesson. I bet it'd be easy, too. He's still crazy about you.**"

" teenage girls! "sighed Christian. I poked my tongue at at him. Knowing exactly how much truth was there.

**"I don't want to teach anyone a lesson," said Lissa. "And I'm not crazy about him."**

**"Come on, she picks fights and talks about us behind our backs. She accused me of getting jeans from the Salvation Army yesterday."**

**"Your jeans are from the Salvation Army."**

**"Well, yeah," I snorted, "but she has no right making fun of them when she's wearing stuff from Target."**

" oh how I miss high school, especially the cat fights " said Adrian mockingly. Everyone snickered.

**"Hey, there's nothing wrong with Target. I like Target."**

**"So do I. That's not the point. She's trying to pass her stuff off like it's freaking Stella McCartney."**

**"And that's a crime?"**

**I affected a solemn face. "Absolutely. You've gotta take revenge."**

" pathetic girls. " said Christian, getting a well deserved smack on his head.

**"I told you, I'm not interested in revenge." Lissa cut me a sidelong look. "And you shouldn't be either."**

**I smiled as innocently as I could, and when we parted ways, I felt relieved again that she couldn't read my thoughts.**

" now that I'm getting my wish, I'm not sure that I'm liking it. " I heard in my head. Confusing.

**"So when's the big catfight going to happen?"**

**Mason was waiting for me outside our dorm after I'd parted ways with Lissa. He looked lazy and cute, leaning against the wall with crossed arms as he watched me.**

**"I'm sure I don't know what you mean."**

"acting innocent will get you nowhere rose " said Eddie.

**He unfolded himself and walked with me into the building, handing me his coat, since I'd let Lissa go off with my dry one. "I saw you guys sparring outside the chapel. Have you no respect for the house of God?"**

Everyone snorted knowing exactly how much he had respect for hose of God.

**I snorted. "You've got about as much respect for it as I do, you heathen. You didn't even go. Besides, as you said, we were outside."**

**"And you still didn't answer the question."**

**I just grinned and slipped on his coat.**

**We stood in the common area of our dorm, a well-supervised lounge and study area where male and female students could mingle, along with Moroi guests. Being Sunday, it was pretty crowded with those cramming for last-minute assignments due tomorrow. Spying a small, empty table, I grabbed Mason's arm and pulled him toward it.**

"always breaking the rules, " said Sydney smiling.

**"Aren't you supposed to go straight to your room?"**

**I hunkered down in my seat, glancing around warily. "There are so many people here today, it'll take them a while to notice me. God, I'm so sick of being locked away. And it's only been a week."**

**"I'm sick of it too. We missed you last night. A bunch of us went and shot pool in the rec room. Eddie was on fire."**

"I'm always on fire. "said Eddie cockily.

**I groaned. "Don't tell me that. I don't want to hear about your glamorous social life."**

**"All right." He propped his elbow up on the table and rested his chin in his hand. "Then tell me about Mia. You're just going to turn around and punch her one day, aren't you? I think I remember you doing that at least ten times with people that pissed you off."**

**"I'm a new, reformed Rose," I said, doing my best impression of demure.**

Howls of laughter at this.

**Which wasn't very good. He emitted a choking sort of laugh. "Besides, if I do that, I'll have broken my probation with Kirova. Gotta walk the straight and narrow."**

**"In other words, find some way to get back at Mia that you won't get in trouble for."**

" I'm not liking where this is going. " said Mia eyeing the book suspiciously.

**I felt a smile tug at the corners of my lips. "You know what I like about you, Mase? You think just like I do."**

**"Frightening concept," he replied drily**

"frightening? Horrifying."said Eddie. I poked my tongue playfully at him.

**"So tell me what you think of this: I might know something about her, but I probably shouldn't tell you…"**

**I leaned forward. "Oh, you already tipped me off. You've got to tell me now."**

**"It'd be wrong," he teased. "How do I know you'd use this knowledge for good instead of evil?"**

**I batted my eyelashes. "Can you resist this face?"**

" let me guess. He caved "said Eddie. I nodded.

**He took a moment to study me. "No. I can't, actually. Okay, here you go: Mia isn't royal."**

Mia let out a relieved sigh

**I slouched back in my chair. "No kidding. I already knew that. I've known who's royal since I was two."**

**"Yeah, but there's more than just that.**

" uh oh! " I heard again in my head but I was sure it was a make voice rather than lissa's. I need to talk about this with someone.

**Her parents work for one of the Drozdov lords." I waved my hand impatiently. A lot of Moroi worked out in the human world, but Moroi society had plenty of jobs for its own kind too. Someone had to fill them. "Cleaning stuff. Practically servants. Her dad cuts grass, and her mom's a maid."**

Mia gulped, before reading. A very teeny tiny part of me felt bad for Mia, but I bitch slapped it down.

**I actually had a healthy respect for anyone who pulled a full day's work, regardless of the job. People everywhere had to do crappy stuff to make a living. But, much like with Target, it became another matter altogether when someone was trying to pass herself off as something else. And in the week that I'd been here, I'd picked up on how desperately Mia wanted to fit in with the school elite.**

"oh you have no idea "this time I recognised Mia 's voice in my head.

**"No one knows," I said thoughtfully.**

**"And she doesn't want them to. You know how the royals are." He paused. "Well, except for Lissa, of course. They'd give Mia a hard time over it."**

" damn straight "murmured Mia this time not inside my head.

**"How do you know all this?"**

" this us what I want to know as well. " said Mia.

**"My uncle's a guardian for the Drozdovs."**

**"And you've just been sitting on this secret, huh?"**

**"Until you broke me. So which path will you choose: good or evil?"**

**"I think I'll give her a grace—"**

**"Miss Hathaway, you know you aren't supposed to be here."**

**One of the dorm matrons stood over us, disapproval all over her face.**

**I hadn't been joking when I said Mason thought like me. He could bullshit as well as I could. "We have a group project to do for our humanities class. How are we supposed to do it if Rose is in isolation?"**

" he is saying like rose actually contributes to group projects. " mocked Christian.

**The matron narrowed her eyes. "You don't look like you're doing work."**

**I slid over the priest's book and opened it at random. I'd placed it on the table when we sat down. "We're, um, working on this."**

**She still looked suspicious. "One hour. I'll give you one more hour down here, and I'd better actually see you working."**

**"Yes, ma'am," said Mason straight-faced. "Absolutely."**

Eddie laughed," typical mason. "

**She wandered off, still eyeing us. "My hero," I declared.**

Everyone snickered.

**He pointed at the book. "What is this?"**

**"Something the priest gave me. I had a question about the service."**

**He stared at me, astonished.**

" can't blame the poor guy, even Jesus would be astonished at this. " joked Adrian.

**"Oh, stop it and look interested." I skimmed the index. "I'm trying to find some woman named Anna."**

**Mason slid his chair over so that he was sitting right beside me. "All right. Let's 'study.' "**

Mia said making air quotes.

**I found a page number, and it took me to the section on St. Vladimir, not surprisingly. We read through the chapter, scanning for Anna's name. When we found it, the author didn't have much to say about her. He did include an excerpt written by some guy who had apparently lived at the same time as St. Vladimir:**

**And with Vladimir always is Anna, the daughter of Fyodor. Their love is as chaste and pure as that of brother and sister, and many times has she defended him from Strigoi who would seek to destroy him and his holiness. Likewise, it is she who comforts him when the spirit becomes too much to bear, and Satan's darkness tries to smother him and weaken his own health and body. This too she defends against, for they have been bound together ever since he saved her life as a child. It is a sign of God's love that He has sent the blessed Vladimir a guardian such as her, one who is shadow-kissed and always knows what is in his heart and mind.**

Whole time Adrian was trying to control his laughter.

**"There you go," Mason said. "She was his guardian."**

**"It doesn't say what 'shadow-kissed' means."**

**"Probably doesn't mean anything."**

**Something in me didn't believe that. I read it again, trying to make sense of the old-fashioned language.**

" it isn't old fashioned rose. " said Sydney exasperated I shrugged.

**Mason watched me curiously, looking like he very much wanted to help.**

**"Maybe they were hooking up," he suggested.**

**I laughed. "He was a saint."**

**"So? Saints probably like sex too. That 'brother and sister' stuff is probably a cover." He pointed to one of the lines. "See? They were 'bound' together." He winked. "It's code."**

" you both had no shame "laughed Eddie with others.

**Bound. It was a weird word choice, but that didn't necessarily mean Anna and Vladimir were ripping each other's clothes off.**

Mom rolled her eyes.

**"I don't think so. They're just close. Guys and girls can just be friends." I said it pointedly, and he gave me a dry look.**

"Yeah I would too considering the source " said Lissa.

**"Yeah? We're friends, and I don't know what's in your 'heart and mind.' " Mason put on a fake philosopher's look. "Of course, some might argue that one can never know what's in the heart of a woman—"**

Everyone laughed at this. Adrian couldn't control his laughter he had tears streams g down his face.

**"Oh, shut up," I groaned, punching him in the arm.**

**"For they are strange and mysterious creatures," he continued in his scholarly voice, "and a man must be a mind reader if he ever wishes to make them happy."**

Again lots of laughter, even i was laughing.

**I started giggling uncontrollably and knew I'd probably get in trouble again. "Well, try to read my mind and stop being such a—"**

**I stopped laughing and looked back down at the book.**

**Bound together and always knows what is in his heart and mind.**

" Finally she sees light" exclaimed Adrian

**They had a bond, I realized. I would have bet everything I owned—which wasn't much—on it.**

"And no body wants your stuff." Scoffed Adrian I threw a pillow at him which collided square with his face.

**The revelation was astonishing. There were lots of vague stories and myths about how guardians and Moroi 'used to have bonds.' But this was the first I'd ever heard of anyone specific that it had happened to.**

**Mason had noticed my startled reaction. "You okay? You look kind of weird.**"

" he was just nicely saying that you looked ugly. " I ignored the urge to beat the shit out of him, but Lissa didn't hesitate and snacked him upside down oh his head.

**I shrugged it off. "Yeah. Fine."**

" this is the end of chapter. Who'll read next? " asked Mia.

Victoria replied," can I? " Mia nodded and passed on the book.

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE : so did you guys like the lemon. Took me some time to finalise, but I'm happy with the end result.**_

_**Oh and who can think what's going on with rose. I want to hear you opinions, theories. Review guys.**_

_**A particular guest review made me laugh a lot, VA fan, you are hilarious. And yes I'll make that my slogan.**_

_**I would like to thank a particular user (ginevra annabeth herondale ) I'll call you Anne for short. You are my driving force to write further, thank you soo much. You actually criticized me, and made me correct my mistakes. Love you dear.**_

_**So as far as reviews are concerned I'm lovin it guys *did anyone else imagined McDonald's tune with it? No. Well okay ***_

_**I may not reconnect the bond but there might be something ełse in the later chapters. You all can always, always share your thoughts with me about the proceeding of the story.**_

_**That's all for today. Have a great day /night everyone. Stay safe, stay healthy and stay happy.**_

_**-anvi.**_


	8. Chapter 7 Adrian and Rose's pov

**Adrian's POV**

Victoria started reading the chapter, but my mind was on something I've been operating for a few days. I'm very worries about this thing. I've always hated seeing people's aura, but I'm glad I can now though, because it seems like my Little Dhampir needs help. So when everyone focused on the story, I opened my aura vision to scrutinize everything.

**A COUPLE WEEKS PASSED AFTER that, and I soon forgot about the Anna thing as life at the Academy wrapped around me. The shock of our return had worn off a little, and we began to fall into a semi-comfortable routine. My days revolved around church, lunch with Lissa, and whatever sort of social life I could scrape together outside of that.**

"Which was still non existent." Eddie said smiling. Rose gave her trademark puppy eyes and nodded. She is simply amusing. You can never get bored of observing her.

**Denied any real free time, I didn't have too hard a time staying out of the spotlight, although I did manage to steal a little attention here and there, despite my noble speech to her about 'coasting through the middle.' I couldn't help it. I liked flirting, I liked groups, and I liked making smartass comments in class.**

"You wouldn't be you without that Rosie." said Christian in a sing-song voice making all of us chuckle and Rose narrow her eyes at the name.

**Her new, incognito role attracted attention simply because it was so different than before we'd left, back when she'd been so active with the royals.**

I couldn't help but make smart-ass remark at that, "You don't even know how wrong that sounded Lil Dhampir." she chuckled and nodded probably realizing the same thing.

**Most people soon let that go, accepting that the Dragomir princess was fading off the social radar and content to run with Natalie and her group. Natalie's rambling still made me want to beat my head against a wall sometimes,**

"Who didn't?" Lissa rolled her eyes at that.

**but she was really nice—nicer than almost any of the other royals—and I enjoyed hanging around her most of the time.**

"Or so I thought." murmured Rose. I could see anger in her aura. Which made sense, considering what Natalie and her pathetic excuse of a father did to them.

**And, just as Kirova had warned, I was indeed training and working out all the time. But as more time passed, my body stopped hating me.**

"Aren't you just soo lovable." Christian said sarcasm dripping from his words. For which he got the smack he so dearly deserved from Lissa.

**My muscles grew tougher, and my stamina increased. I still got my ass kicked in practice but not quite as badly as I used to, which was something. The biggest toll now seemed to be on my skin. Being outside in the cold so much was chapping my face,and only Lissa's constant supply of skin-care lotions kept me from aging before my time.**

Everyone chucked at this.

**She couldn't do much for the blisters on my hands and feet.**

**A routine also developed with Dimitri and me. Mason had been right about him being antisocial. Dimitri didn't hang out much with the other guardians,**

"Much? Try never. There were only two sides of Dimitri, either on duty or locked in his room with his who-knows-what hobbies." said Eddie. Rose smirked but before she could open her mouth to no doubt share some interesting thoughts on this, Belikov warned,"Rose one word out and you'll seriously regret it." And for first time in our entire lives, we saw Rosemarie Hathaway shudder and seal her mouth. Everyone looked at them with gaping mouths, even her mom looked shocked. Come on, you would be too if you saw Rose silenced without violence, and actually listening to someone.

**though it was clear they all respected him. And the more I worked with him, the more I respected him too, though I didn't really understand his training methods. They didn't seem very badass.**

This brought everyone out of their shock and made them laugh.

**We always started by stretching in the gym, and lately he'd been sending me outside to run, braving the increasingly cold Montana autumn.**

**Three weeks after my return to the Academy, I walked into the gym before gi one day and found him sprawled on a mat, reading a Louis L'Amour book.**

"Seriously? Dimitri I didn't know you were that type." said Lissa earning confused and questioning glances. She shrugged, "I never thought his hobby would include reading Westerns. I never took him for that type of guy, I took him to have more of an action loving personality."

After some weird glances by us, Victoria started reading.

**Someone had brought in a portable CD player, and while that cheered me up at first, the song coming from it did not: "When Doves Cry" by Prince. It was embarrassing to know the title,**

We all laughed out loud. But when Janine said, "I love that song." Rose made some gagging noises. We all looked sick at this.

**but one of our former housemates had been obsessed with the '80s.**

**"Whoa, Dimitri," I said, tossing my bag on the floor. "I realize this is actually a current hit in Eastern Europe right now, but do you think we could maybe listen to something that wasn't recorded before I was born?"**

"Was it really going to matter? You weren't even going to listen to them. Because of your routine." said Janine.

**Only his eyes flicked toward me; the rest of his posture remained the same. "What does it matter to you? I'm the one who's going to be listening to it. You'll be outside running."**

"You have a point there man." said Flame Boy.

**I made a face as I set my foot up on one of the bars and stretched my hamstrings. All things considered, Dimitri had a good-natured tolerance for my snarkiness.**

"So what's your secret belikov? Don't be rude and keep it from us." Eddie wiggled his eyebrows at him. Belikov just shrugged.

So long as I didn't slack in my training, he didn't mind my running commentary.

**"Hey," I asked, moving on to the next set of stretches, "what's with all the running, anyway? I mean, I realize the importance of stamina and all that, but shouldn't I be moving on to something with a little hitting? They're still killing me in group practice."**

**"Maybe you should hit harder," he replied drily.**

We all laughed at this.

"I'm serious.

"Hard to tell the difference." said Sydney and Mia, making us chuckle.

**"Hard to tell the difference."**

"It's scary how you think like him..." said Rose.

**He set the book down but didn't move from his sprawl. "My job is to get you ready to defend the princess and fight dark creatures, right?"**

My Little Sunflower rolled her eyes at this. I gave her a small peck on cheek.

**"Yup."**

**"So tell me this: suppose you manage to kidnap her again and take her off to the mall. While you're there, a Strigoi comes at will you do?"**

**"Depends on what store we're in."**

"Rose!" groaned Janine.

**He looked at me.**

**"Fine. I'll stab him with a silver stake."**

**Dimitri sat up now, crossing his long legs in one fluid motion. I still couldn't figure out how someone so tall could be so graceful.**

"It comes with practice." said Belikov.

It hurts me to say this but, I really admired the guy. He is perfect for Rose, he keeps her grounded. The happiest aura that I've found around the whole of Court is Rose's when she's around him. I can see what Sonya described. Their auras are in sync with each other like I've never seen before.

"He is graceful now, but you should've seen him in his early teenage years Roza. It was like he woke up one day all tall and awkward, bumping into things, I can't even count how many times he bumped his head into walls or doors." Olena laughed, Rose looked up at her very very amused. Then started laughing probably imagining him like Olena described. While Belikov got red cheeks. Everyone was laughing now.

**"Oh?" He raised his dark eyebrows. "Do you have a silver stake? Do you even know how to use one?"**

"Belikov: 1 Hathaway: 0," laughed Eddie.

**I dragged my eyes away from his body and scowled.**

"Rose is there any time you don't eye fuck him?" asked Mia laughing. Rose shrugged. While everyone chuckled, a certain Russian got embarrassed.

**Made with elemental magic, silver stakes were a guardian's deadliest weapon. Stabbing a Strigoi through the heart with one meant instant death. The blades were also lethal to Moroi, so they weren't given out lightly to novices. My classmates had just started learning how to use them. I'd trained with a gun before, but no one would let me near a stake yet. Fortunately, there were two other ways to kill a Strigoi.**

**"Okay. I'll cut his head off."**

**"Ignoring the fact that you don't have a weapon to do that, how will you compensate for the fact that he may be a foot taller than you?"**

"Belikov: 2 Hathaway: 0," cheered Eddie.

**I straightened up from touching my toes, annoyed. "Fine, then I'll set him on fire."**

**"Again, with what?"**

"Sparky," answered Rose like it was world's stupidest question. Even Belikov laughed at this.

**"All right, I give up. You've already got the answer. You're just messing with me. I'm at the mall and I see a Strigoi. What do I do?"**

"You run." said Rose's mom, like she was stating that a day has 24 hours.

**He looked at me and didn't blink. "You run."**

"What, is this a thing all guardians have drilled into their heads? " asked jill. The four guardians present shrugged.

"And with that ladies and gentlemen, we have the final results of the verbal spat that we just witnessed. Belikov: 3 Hathaway: 0. And I'm very pleased to announce to you that our very own Guardian Belikov wins with outstanding performance." Clapped Eddie. We all laughed at Eddie's antics. It was the first time since Mason's death I'd seen him this relaxed.

**I repressed the urge to throw something at him. When I finished my stretches, he told me he'd run with me. That was a first. Maybe running would give me some insight into his killer reputation.**

"It wasn't sarcasm," said Rose.

**We set out into the chilly October evening. Being back on a vampiric schedule still felt weird to me. With school about to start in an hour, I expected the sun to be coming up, not down. But it was sinking on the western horizon, lighting up the snow-capped mountains with an orange glow.**

Beside me Sydney muttered something offensive it vaguely sounded like, "Damn vampires and their schedules." I shook my head and laughed silently.

**It didn't really warm things up, and I soon felt the cold pierce my lungs as my need for oxygen deepened. We didn't speak. He slowed his pace to match mine, so we stayed together.**

**Something about that bothered me; I suddenly very much wanted his approval.**

That's when I saw it happening, Rose's aura connected with Belikov's, not like forming a bond but something else. Like his aura pulled hers towards his own. Then suddenly it was gone. I'd seen the same thing happening yesterday with Lissa and Mia as well.

It was a good thing my aunt was Queen back in the day, it gave me certain privileges. One being that I had access to moroi archives. That is what helped me when my magic was first developing.

I spent one whole month in those archives finding anything and everything I could. But I knew I wouldn't have those privileges forever, so I had scanned the books that had anything on auras. They have helped me get through all the confusing things that have happened to me.

So when I saw this unusual behaviour of Rose's aura, I started searching for anything I could find. Though I'm still looking for the reason or any kind of explanation.

So when Victoria started reading again I opened the password protected documents in my phone and started browsing through it.

**Rose's pov**

As Vika started reading again I got up and went to snuggle with my comrade. He happily put his arms around me, and I couldn't help the sigh of content that left my mouth at this.

**So I picked up my own pace, working my lungs and muscles harder. Twelve laps around the track made three miles; we had nine more to go.**

All the moroi shuddered. I hated that because of the system, our moroi are so vulnerable and weak.

**When we reached the third-to-last loop, a couple of other novices passed by, preparing to go to the group practice I'd soon be at as well. Seeing me, Mason cheered. "Good form, Rose!"**

**I smiled and waved back.**

**"You're slowing down," Dimitri snapped, jerking my gaze from the boys. The harshness in his voice startled me.**

"Jealous?" I asked Dimitri. He shrugged, giving me my answer. This brought a smile to my face, and I snuggled closer to him.

**"Is this why your times aren't getting any faster? You're easily distracted?"**

**Embarrassed, I increased my speed once more, despite the fact that my body started screaming obscenities at me.**

"More evidence that you're crazy." said Christian dryly. I gave him an equally dry look.

**We finished the twelve laps, and when he checked, he found we'd shaved two minutes off my best time.**

**"Not bad, huh?" I crowed when we headed back inside for cool-down stretches. "Looks like I could get as far as the Limited before the Strigoi got me at the mall. Not sure how Lissa would do."**

**"If she was with you, she'd be okay."**

**I looked up in surprise. It was the first real compliment he'd paid me since I started training with him. His brown eyes watched me, both approving and amused.**

Dimitri looked down at me with the same approving and amused look her given me that day, "I've always approved of you Roza." I was so happy that I could've grown wings and flown away at that moment.

**And that's when it happened.**

**I felt like someone had shot me.**

Gasps came from Sydney, Mia and Jill. Girls, I swear.

**Sharp and biting, terror exploded in my body and in my head. Small razors of pain. My vision blurred, and for a moment, I wasn't standing there. I was running down a flight of stairs, scared and desperate, needing to get out of there, needing to find…me.**

"Was it the bond?" asked Karolina wide eyed. I nodded solemnly, not wanting to remember it.

**My vision cleared, leaving me back on the track and out of Lissa's head. Without a word to Dimitri, I tore off, running as fast as I could toward the Moroi dorm.**

"Did I thank you for leaving me hanging? No? Well thank you." Dimitri joked.

All of us looked at him shocked, "Did you... Did you just attempt a sarcastic, teasing AND mocking sentence with tone?" I asked surprised.

He looked around, "Was that bad? I was just trying to lighten the situation." Dimitri said.

We all looked at him, when Eddie said, "Dude, being with Rose is rubbing off on you isn't it? I can't believe the antisocial, stoic God Dimitri Belikov actually made a joke!"

He shrugged like it was no big deal.

Getting over our shocks we asked Vika to continue reading.

I**t didn't matter that I'd just put my legs through a mini-marathon. They ran hard and fast, like they were shiny and new. Distantly, I was aware of Dimitri catching up to me, asking me what was wrong. But I couldn't answer him. I had one task and one alone: get to the dorm.**

**Its looming, ivy-covered form was just coming into view when Lissa met up with us, her face streaked with tears. I came to a jarring stop, my lungs ready to burst.**

**"What's wrong? What happened?" I demanded, clutching her arms, forcing her to look into my eyes.**

Every one looked sympathetically at Lissa. She buried her face in Christian's chest.

**But she couldn't answer. She just flung her arms around me, sobbing into my chest. I held her there, stroking her sleek, silky hair while I told her it was going to be all right—whatever 'it' was. And honestly, I didn't care what it was just then. She was here, and she was safe, which was all that mattered. Dimitri hovered over us, alert and ready for any threat, his body coiled to attack. I felt safe with him beside us.**

Dimitri kissed my head at this. I smiled.

**A half hour later, we were crammed inside Lissa's dorm room with three other guardians, Ms. Kirova, and the hall matron. This was the first time I'd seen Lissa's room. Natalie had indeed managed to get her as a roommate, and the two sides of the room were a study in contrasts. Natalie's looked lived in, with pictures on the wall and a frilly bedspread that wasn't dorm-issue. Lissa had as few possessions as I did, making her half noticeably bare. She did have one picture taped to the wall, a picture taken from last Halloween, when we'd dressed up like fairies, complete with wings and glittery makeup.**

"You've always been my angel fairy." Dimitri whispered.

I kissed his chest and smiled up at him, "And you've always been my guardian angel and a safe place. "

**Seeing that picture and remembering how things used to be made a dull pain form in my chest.**

**With all the excitement, no one seemed to remember that I wasn't supposed to be in there. Outside in the hall, other Moroi girls crowded together, trying to figure out what was going on.**

Pathetic high school girls.

**Natalie pushed her way through them, wondering what the commotion in her room was. When she discovered it,**

Or rediscovered it. I thought to my self.

**she came to a screeching halt.**

By now everyone was listening intently not making a sound.

**Shock and disgust showed on almost everyone's faces as we stared at Lissa's bed. There was a fox on the pillow. Its coat was reddish-orange, tinged in white. It looked so soft and cuddly that it could have been a pet, perhaps a cat, something you'd hold in your arms and snuggle with.**

Sydney and Jill awed. While Mia knew exactly what was coming.

**Aside from the fact that its throat had been slit.**

Everyone had shocked faces at this.

**The inside of the throat looked pink and jellylike. Blood stained that soft coat and had run down onto the yellow bedspread, forming a dark pool that spread across the fabric. The fox's eyes stared upward, glazed, over with a sort of shocked look about them, like the fox couldn't believe this was happening.**

Some made gagging sound while Christian complained, "Rose did you really have to explain it in such graphic detail?"

**Nausea built up in my stomach, but I forced myself to keep looking. I couldn't afford to be squeamish. I'd be killing Strigoi someday. If I couldn't handle a fox, I'd never survive major kills.**

Mom looked at me, "That is not true, Rose. You should've looked away."

I nodded, "I know mom."

**What had happened to the fox was sick and twisted, obviously done by someone too fucked up for words.**

Everyone seemed to agree with this.

**Lissa stared at it, her face death-pale, and took a few steps toward it, hand involuntarily reaching out. This gross act hit her hard, I knew, digging at her love of animals. She loved them, they loved her. While on our own, she'd often begged me for a pet, but I'd always refused and reminded her we couldn't take care of one when we might have to flee at a moment's notice. Plus, they hated me. So she'd contented herself with helping and patching up strays she found and making friends with other people's pets, like Oscar the cat.**

"Who really hated me," I said dryly.

"I told you, nobody loves you Rose," said Christian in mock seriousness. I poked my tongue out at him, and he did the same back.

Yeah really mature chrissy, I thought.

**She couldn't patch this fox up, though. There was no coming back for it, but I saw in her face she wanted to help it, like she helped everything. I took her hand and steered her away, suddenly recalling a conversation from two years ago.**

**"What is that? Is it a crow?"**

**"Too big. It's a raven."**

**"Is it dead?"**

**"Yeah. Definitely dead. Don't touch it."**

**She hadn't listened to me back then. I hoped she would now.**

"By the way, what was it about?" asked Jill.

I said calmly,"It'll probably be in the book, so just keep listening."

**"It was still alive when I got back," Lissa whispered to me, clutching my arm. "Barely. Oh God, it was twitching. It must have suffered so much."**

Again sympathetic glances from everyone.

**I felt bile rise in my throat now. Under no circumstances would I throw up. "Did you—?"**

**"No. I wanted to…I started to…"**

**"Then forget about it," I said sharply. "It's stupid. Somebody's stupid joke. They'll clean it up. Probably even give you a new room if you want."**

"Forget about what?" asked Sydney.

I replied irritated, "It'll be in the book, so just suck it up and listen. Don't ruin the suspense. "

**She turned to me, eyes almost wild. "Rose…do you remember…that one time…"**

**"Stop it," I said. "Forget about it. This isn't the same thing."**

**"What if someone saw? What if someone knows?…"**

**I tightened my grip on her arm, digging my nails in to get her attention. She flinched.**

Christian narrowed his eyes at me but Lissa murmured something in his ear, he relaxed after that.

**"No. It's not the same. It has nothing to do with that. Do you hear me?" I could feel both Natalie and Dimitri's eyes on us. "It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay."**

**Not looking like she believed me at all, Lissa nodded.**

"I knew something was bound to happen sooner or later." Lissa murmured sadly. The only people who heard her were Sparky, Dimitri and I.

**"Get this cleaned up," Kirova snapped to the matron. "And find out if anyone saw anything."**

**Someone finally realized I was there and ordered Dimitri to take me away, no matter how much I begged them to let me stay with Lissa.**

"Rose begging? This I need to see!" smirked Adrian. It was then I noticed he hadn't actually paid attention to what was going around him.

**He walked me back to the novices' dorm. He didn't speak until we were almost there. "You know something. Something about what happened. Is this what you meant when you told Headmistress Kirova that Lissa was in danger?"**

This time I nodded at him. He chuckled and whispered in my ear, "You are incredibly adorable sometimes."

I suddenly became very shy, I know Rose Hathaway? Shy? But this man has the power to make me feel all warm even when it's freezing outside.

**"I don't know anything. It's just some sick joke."**

**"Do you have any idea. Who would do it? Or why?"**

I again nodded at him. He rolled his eyes when I made big googly eyes at him.

**I considered this. Before we'd left, it could have been any number of people. That was the way it was when you were popular. People loved you, people hated you. But now? Lissa had faded off to a certain extent. The only person who really and truly despised her was Mia, but Mia seemed to fight her battles with words, not actions.**

"Damn straight, I do. And it's not a surprise that I was the first guess." said Mia rolling her eyes.

**And even if she did decide to do something more aggressive, why do this? She didn't seem like the type. There were a million other ways to get back at a person. "No," I told him. "No clue."**

**"Rose, if you know something, tell me. We're on the same side. We both want to protect her. This is serious."**

**I spun around, taking my anger over the fox out on him.**

"Rose you don't take out your anger out on your instructor." Mom said in exasperation.

**"Yeah, it is serious. It's all serious. And you have me doing laps every day when I should be learning to fight and defend her! If you want to help her, then teach me something! Teach me how to fight. I already know how to run away."**

**I didn't realize until that moment how badly I did want to learn, how I wanted to prove myself to him, to Lissa, and to everyone else. The fox incident had made me feel powerless, and I didn't like that. I wanted to do something, anything.**

"It wasn't in your control Kiz." Abe said looking at me levelly. I nodded telling him that I understood.

**Dimitri watched my outburst calmly, with no change in his expression. When I finished, he simply beckoned me forward like I hadn't said anything. "Come on. You're late for practice."**

"So, it's the end of chapter. Who wants to read next?" asked Vika

My mom replied, "I will." Vika passed the book to her.

"Guys, I'm going to get some snacks and coffee for everyone. Let's take a break first." said Sparky.

Meanwhile Adrian stood up and walked over to me, "Lil Dhampir, can I talk to you privately?" I nodded, following him out. One look at his face and I knew it was serious.

**Author's note : I know I know guys, I'm sorry I didn't update sooner. But as a bonus today you guys have my first edited chapter. so lets have a big round of applause for Ginervra Annabeth Herondale (a.k.a Anne ) for editing this chapter. **

**Message for those who showed me concern about the bond. THE BOND IS NOT REFORMING , I REPEAT THE BOND WON'T BE REFORMING. **

**Any Fifty shades fan here. Omg did you see the second trailer of fifty shades of grey movie? I saw it in the break btw my classes and I drooled, Jamie dornan always make me drool, he is one fine specimen. The trailer left all hot and bothered, and you won't believe I was soo damn flustered that too in whole 2 hours of my chemistry class. Damn Jamie. If this is what happened to me just by trailer I don't know how I will survive the whole movie.*cue dreamy eyes* **

**So guys on a more serious note, my next update will be a little delayed bc I have to go out of town to meet my neurologist, all the tests required to be done, and many many visits to hospital will take roughly a week. So I will apologise in advance. Thank you all for your love, I'm loving the reviews I'm receiving for this story. **

**Keep reviewing, reviews are appreciated and enjoyed. If you give me ideas for the story I'll try to incorporate them. **

**So stay safe, stay healthy guys. **

**Lots of love. **

**Anvi. **


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